Hollow Problems
by DirectHit
Summary: It seems as though Ichigo's hollow isn't quite tame yet, and so Ichigo goes back to the Vizards. What happens when he finds out that he has feelings for one of their members? IchiHiyori! Had to re-upload this, as the old one got banned. No lemons! I cried! Other than that, still the same old story with a couple of touch-ups here and there!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any Bleach characters or logos. That is Tite Kubo. Go and praise him.**

**Writer's Note: There is no honorifics in this story. It will be written as though it were said in the English dubbed. Now quit whining about it!**

It's dark. Everything around him is completely out of reach. All his hopes and dreams seem to be so far away. He feels his hollow mask begin to form. Ichigo feels himself being pulled back as his inner hollow tries to dominate him.

_"Where do you think you're going, King?"_the hollow yells in that insane-sounding voice of his before pinning down Ichigo and letting out a disturbing laugh.

Ichigo wakes up immediately and sits upright. As he does, he feels half of the hollow mask on his face slide down and land on his lap, dissolving instantly. After that, he spends a moment breathing deeply, thinking to himself, trying to convince himself that it was all just a dream. Giving up on the futile attempt, he decides to go to Kisuke for advice, since the mad genius typically knows what to do.

…**...**

Upon arriving at Urahara Shop, he tells Kisuke about the dream.

"Well, the Vizards probably know more about this than I do," the shopkeeper says, to which Ichigo grimaces.

"Do I have to go there?" he whines, as though it might kill him.

"Unless you aren't worried about your hollow taking over and causing mayhem and destruction! In that case, feel free to kick back and relax with me and Tessai back in the shop!" Kisuke says in a singsong voice, as he always does in replacement of sarcasm. Ichigo decides that he may as well go, but not before Yoruichi walks in and decides that she doesn't like her cat form at that moment. Right in front of Ichigo.

…**...**

Upon arriving at the old warehouse that he remembers to be the Vizards hideout, he calls out to them.

"Hey! Shinji! Open the hell up!" Ichigo yells, and in response, the barrier surrounding the place disappears. As Ichigo walks into the warehouse, he see's Hachi hard at work putting up the barrier again, Shinji standing up in welcome, Love and Rose sitting at the table, reading their manga, Mashiro holding on to Kensei's arm, as if she were previously begging for him to play with her, and Lisa in the corner, reading her dirty magazines. However, he can't seem to spot...

_*SMACK*_

"What the hell was that for!?" Ichigo yells as he grabs at his face, the sandal having left a stinging red mark.

"Always be aware of your surroundings, dumbass!" Hiyori yells back, putting her flip flop back on.

"Oh yeah? Well I wouldn't have to be as aware if you would stop hitting me with your damned shoe! And stop calling me dumbass, snaggletooth!"

"If I stop hitting you, then you'll never learn, dumbass!"

"Enough! Stop fighting you two!" Kensei yells at them, and they both turn away from each other, rolling their eyes as they obey him.

"Now Ichigo, what is this all about?" Shinji asks as he nods appreciatively at Kensei.

"It's about my hollow," Ichigo says, remembering his dream, and why he came here. "Last night, I had a dream that he was taking over, and when I woke up, my half mask fell off."

"Hmm... well, it seems like you haven't fully mastered him yet, which means you will need more training. Hiyori," he looks at the girl in a 'don't-misbehave' look, "will be your partner once again."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I forgot to do this. I do not own Bleach.**

"Dumbass! How can you learn to control your hollow if you can't even control if my sandal hits your face or not?!" Hiyori yells at Ichigo, her hollow mask donned and on the side of her head, her flip flop having hit Ichigo again.

"Well if you would use your zanpakuto, I would be able to take you seriously!" Ichigo retorts.

"I'm only gonna use my zanpakuto if I have to! Maybe, if you were a better soul reaper, I would have to use it you, dumbass!"

Ichigo growls and tightens his grip on Zangetsu before lunging at her. Right before he hits her, however, he disappears. Hiyori becomes very confused at this new development. She begins to look around when suddenly Ichigo drops down on top of her from above, swinging his blade at Hiyori. She struggles to bring her zanpakuto up to meet his, tripping backwards in the process. They both collapse to the floor. They find themselves tangled with one another as they struggle to get up but for a moment they look into each other's eyes, locked there.

"Back to training, you dumbass!" Hiyori yells as she smacks him with her flip flop.

"... oh right, the training" Ichigo replies, somewhat still in a daze, even with the red mark of her sandal on his face.

After that little 'incident,' all of the training goes on as it had before, with Hiyori smacking Ichigo relentlessly with her sandal, and Ichigo getting a little more pissed each time, wishing that she would take it seriously. They train for hours, going until their bodies alost give out. He feels his mask break off after a particularly hard hit of Hiyori's sandal to the face. Hiyori keeps up with the beating, and soon Ichigo is getting really pissed, because he can't even take on this damned brat with her damned sandal.

Then, it happens.

Hiyori finds herself pinned to the ground, the half mask on Ichigo's face slowly growing.

"You're a pretty little thing, aren't you?" Ichigo's inner hollow says, his eyes grazing over her petite body under the white beater she is wearing. And for the second time while facing Ichigo's hollow, Hiyori is terrified.

The scene is then interrupted by Shinji. He had rushed in from upstairs, with lunch for them. He destroys Ichigo's half mask with his zanpakuto. Ichigo comes to, realizing that he is on top of Hiyori. He releases her neck and climbs off of her. He had seen everything that happened, but was in no control of any of it. Hiyori, with her face in shock, gets up and runs away to forget what had just happened.

"So when's lunch?" Ichigo asks Shinji, after a few moments of awkward silence.

"i was coming to get you for lunch until what just happened," Shinji replies.

"I felt my hollow take over and I just lost control. I could see what was happening, but I had no control over it until you stepped in. Thanks, I'm scared to think of what would have happened if you hadn't," Ichigo says.

"Well, we had better go and eat. No sense in letting Love eat all of it," Shinji says, and he gets up, brushes of the dust, and helps Ichigo to his feet. Upstairs, Ichigo doesn't see Hiyori, which he is thankful for. He didn't want to face her just yet. It wasn't as if he felt anything for her, it was just his hollow... right?


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Hey guys, it is I. And I bring with me my humblest apologies. You see, I don't actually have a laptop, so I am using a friend's. We stopped talking for a while because some stuff happened and he needed space. But it's all good now, I promise! Please, if you have a suggestion or are wanting to tell me something, feel free to PM me or review the story. Just give me your feedback! I needs it! And thank you to the kind soul who did review. Anyway, I leave you with this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Go praise Tite Kubo or something.**

Lunch was a fairly uneventful and uncomfortable meal. Ichigo's head was pounding, and everyone was quiet. Not that they were avoiding him. None of them would ever do that. Well, one of them might. It has been 5 hours after the 'incident' and he hasn't seen her since.

Because Hiyori wouldn't answer anyone, much less leave her room, Lisa decided to take her place. At first, Ichigo had protested against, claiming that if Hiyori wouldn't take him seriously, then she would be worse.

And he was right.

Each time she managed to trip him, she was immediately on top of him and blowing into his ear teasingly. And each time she did, he got even more embarrassed and red-faced, resulting in him getting very, very angry. But thankfully, Hollow Ichigo didn't appear for an encore.

"Well, looks like it's about time to go," Shinji says to Love, who isn't paying attention, but instead reading his manga. "Hey! Ichigo! Lisa! Time's up!" he yells, and Lisa winks at Ichigo.

"See ya tomorrow, Strawberry," she says as she walks away from him. He's just relieved that this training with the perverted female Vizard is over.

"Hey, Shinji," he says in a hushed voice as he walks by him, so that no one can else can here them.

"Yeah, Ichigo?" Shinji replies, already knowing what Ichigo is going to ask.

"Do you think that you could get Hiyori out of her room before tomorrow?" Ichigo asks. He can't take another day of training with Lisa and he was worried about the blonde little teenage-looking brat. Plus, he didn't know why, but it wasn't as bad when Hiyori called him names. They were just a little less... annoying. He would rather be called dumbass than strawberry.

"I don't know, Ichigo. You scared her pretty badly. At least she wasn't drooling all over herself this time."

"I know, and I'm sorry. But that is what the training is for, isn't it? To help me with my hollow?"

"Listen, Ichigo. I'm worried too. I've known her for as long as she can remember and I've never seen her act like this. Even after Captain Hikifune left, she didn't lock herself in her room. But then again, she was a lieutenant at the time, and now she has little to no responsibilities."

"Well just, tell her I'm sorry. I don't know if I can take any more training with the pervert girl," Ichigo says with a somewhat joking voice. But underneath it was a layer of seriousness.

Stupid Ichigo and his damn Inner Hollow.

Why couldn't it have just tried to kill her again? She was used to that at least. He had just startled her the first time is all. She was used to her life being threatened every day, the thought of the Soul Society finally finding them one day always present in her mind. But this..

This was horrifying. Damn Ichigo and his hollow for making her scared like that. Damn them for making her feel so weak, so vulnerable, so... helpless. Just like when Captain Hikifune...

No. She is not bringing her into this. That would only add to the already overflowing tears. And she is not going to cry. She couldn't cry, not here, not now. Maybe one day, when she and her Captain were reunited, maybe then would she release the tears that she actually managed to hold back.

Usually, she could control it, more or less. But right now is not one of those times.

Right now though, she is crying out of fear, not sorrow. Yes, she is still afraid. She can still feel those eyes on her, those black, cold backgrounds with those creepy, piercing yellow irises. She can still hear his words, floating around in her head. She just doesn't know what to do. So she does the only thing she knows how to do.

She shuts everyone out. Hell, it had worked so far, hadn't it? She hadn't broken down in the middle of training and begun to cry, right? Oh, wait, that just happened, didn't it?

Ok, so maybe it hadn't worked THAT well. Or at all. But what she supposed to do? Talk about her feelings? Yeah right. Like she would ever do that. Even if she did, who would listen to her? Mashiro was too childish and would just ask to play a game. Lisa and Love would just nod and say "mmhmmms" or "Oh really?'s" with their heads in their respective magazines. Rose would go into a long and complicated speech which relates in no way to the topic. Hachi might listen, but he gives to good of advice, and that would probably just upset Hiyori, seeing as she just needed to vent. And Shinji... no. Just, no. Way to many ways for THAT to go in a violent direction, and despite the popular, she does not ALWAYS love violence. Just when she's angry. Which just so happens to be most of the time.

That left her with nobody to talk to. Well, there was... _NO!_ she screamed inwardly. Not after what happened today. She doesn't want to see his stupid, dumbass, **good looking, incredibly hot** face ever again.

Wait. What?

**Oh right, he's a stupid dumbass.**

No, after that.

**Never want to see his face again?**

No no, before that.

**Incredibly hot?**

Yeah, that.

**Oh, and don't forget good looking.**

Yeah, he did look pretty go-_WHAT THE HELL!?_

Immediately realizing that her own Inner Hollow was speaking up, Hiyori got angry. REALLY angry. And there was one way she knew how to fix that.

Brandishing her sandal, Hiyori chanced a walk out of her room, right up to Shinji, and a smack right across his face. When asked what the hell it was for, she just ran off, looking for a place to get away from everyone, since not even the training grounds were big enough to put enough distance between them.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Hello all! It is I, yet again! This time, I'm putting a bit more into the length. I may get a bit of trouble with OOC, but I think that I explained it pretty well. New chapter will be up each day for the next three days, hopefully! All of which I plan to have this length, if not more so. Again, please review! I needs my reviews, to know if I am doing anything bad! If not, then a little bit of encouragement is always welcome. Anywhore, onwards to progress! Oh and tell if you liked the fight scene *SPOILERS***

**Disclaimer: Again, Tite Kubo= awesomeness maker**

On his way home, Ichigo's combat pass starts going off and pointing towards the park to his right. Although he can't sense or see anything, he definitely felt a Garganta open. _Please not one of those._ He's not sure that he can handle one of those, especially with his current condition. If he loses control right now, there is a very high possibility that he won't be able to get it back.

He runs to some near bye bushes, uses his pass to separate his soul from his body, and makes sure he won't be aching when he gets back in. Then he turns towards the direction that the Garganta was. Taking off at a run, he hopes that it's just a hollow that can hide its spiritual pressure.

As he nears the park, he sees what he had hoped against. Right there, in the middle of a group of children, looking down with wide eyes as if he were a beggar at a king's feast, was a Vasto Lorde class Menos. Locking his jaw and narrowing his eyes, Ichigo takes Zangetsu off of his back and points it at the monster, and yells at it.

"Hey, you disgusting freak! Over here!" he yells at the hollow, getting its attention along with no small amount of irritation. As it Sonidos over to stand five feet away from Ichigo, it looks at him with an annoyed frown, which turns quickly into an amused smile as it senses just how much reishi this kid has. It licks its lips and pulls its French Rapier-esque zanpakuto out of its sheath.

Now that Ichigo has a clear view of the creature, he notices that it is wearing a formal military like white and black coat, with a matching hakama. The sash around its waist is black, and holds his plain white sheath in place. The top half of its face is covered by its masquerade like mask. What he can see, however, is a thin, black, pointy mustache with a goatee that points straight downward. It has full lips that protrude slightly, as if puckering up for a kiss. It has heavily tanned skin, and from what he can tell, it looks male. But when it speaks, he can barely contain a laugh, because the squeaky, high pitched sound that comes forth from the hollow's mouth is NOT what he expected.

"Monsieur, I hope you don't mean to fight me. It is hopeless for you." Upon seeing Ichigo's reaction, however, it gets angry. "I assure you, Monsieur Orange Head, that I do not kid you. You will die here!"

Upon hearing the last sentence, Ichigo breaks into hysterical laughter. He just can't bring himself to feel intimidated by this guy.

Now thoroughly enraged, the large man with the tiny voice attacks, causing Ichigo to snap back to attention. As soon as the first strike is blocked, the second is given, which cuts a shallow, but in no way small cut along Ichigo's right arm. Ichigo Flash Steps away, only to be followed bye way of Sonido, and realizes that it's time to go Bankai. This thing is fast, but Tensa Zangetsu can make Ichigo faster.

Shooting off into the air, he fires a Getsuga Tensho to buy some time, and he feels a pull. And he knows exactly what it is. This is what he is afraid of. If he fires another Getsuga, or uses his powers at all, he will no doubt lose control. At this point, he is afraid of even going Bankai, because he knows that might have to tap into his hollow's reishi reserves.

So, instead, he dashes into the smoke made from his earlier attack missing and hitting the ground. He swings at the spiritual pressure, only to miss and be kick hard in his left side, sending him soaring directly above the terrified group of children. It is then that he notices that they are a bit to danger close, and that he needs to get them out of the area and fast. So, he does the only thing he can do; he goes Bankai. After the blast of spiritual pressure, he Flash Steps all of the children out of the park, leaving him and the hollow to fight.

Since he is already in Bankai, he feels no reason to revert into his usual Shikai state. Instead, he just disappears from sight, only to reappear behind the creature and swing, making a deep gash on its back. As it cries out in pain, he attempts to behead the arrancar, only to slice the air in half.

"HOW DARE YOU, YOU INSOLENT SOUL REAPER!?" The angry hollow screams, at Ichigo. "I AM JULIAN-CLUADE FONTAINE! I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS! PIERCE HIM, FLECHES RADIANTS!"

At the command, the sword disappears, and the arrancar's arms morph into dual crossbows, each locked with a glowing yellow arrow set to shoot. It starts firing into a huge volley of energy arrows, which fire as fast and deadly as lightning bolts. Ichigo manages to dodge most of them, but is caught by one, which explodes as it makes contact with his upper left arm. Ichigo plunges into the ground, Julian does not relent. As it makes its way towards Ichigo, it keeps firing into the dust cloud, until it stops to let it settle and see how much damage is done. However, he never gets the chance.

…

As she runs down the sidewalk, she continues the spew random curses while trying to keep the tears back. She isn't completely successful. However, in the middle of her rant, she feels a two spiritual pressures letting of a ton of reishi. And when she recognizes one, she runs towards it. She doesn't know why, and she doesn't want to. She just knows that he is probably being a dumbass and is about to get killed. Regardless of what has happened, she can't let that happen. He may be a dumbass, but he is still one of them.

But as she nears the park where the fight seems to be going on, something changes. And she knows what it is. She feels her gut tighten and her stomach do back flips. Her heart clenches and her eyes go wide when she sees Ichigo donning that half mask and that insane, murderous, battle-crazed smile, letting out that laugh, the one that has been haunting her for the past five and a half hours. The one that makes her want to run, cry, and curl up in a ball all at once. The one that sends shivers down her spine and panic attacks back up it.

As she watches, the hollowfied Ichigo literally turns the poor arrancar bastard into hamburger. Then, he snaps his attention back up, and zeroes in on her. She can't move, she is frozen in place by fear. All she can do is stand there and wait for the inevitable.

Once he sees who she is, his smile is wider than ever before (if at all possible), and he is off like a bullet. Once he is within striking distance, he sticks his hand out towards her collar, hoping to rip it off in one go. **_This is going to be so good! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!_** However, as his hand comes to about five inches from the white fabric, a red, transparent surface intercepts his fingers, causing them to crunch against the force and speed of his swipe.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGH!"**he yells, clutching his broken hand, as he looks to find the source of this new grievance. And his response comes in the form of a kick to the face from an all too familiar sandal. As the mask shatters, he sees two faces before he falls backwards into unconsciousness. One is a terrified Hiyori, which causes a pain in his gut to make its way into his heart. The other is a very serious, very worried looking young shop owner, with an arm around Hiyori, trying to calm her down before she breaks into hysterics.

"Thanks…. Hat 'N' Clogs…" he manages to get out before black takes over his mind.

…

"It's okay Hiyori. Don't worry, I'm here," Urahara says in a fatherly tone. He knows when to be serious, and that know is one of those times. She needs someone to help her, and right now, he's the only one there. Why Shinji and the others aren't already there yet, he doesn't know, and it makes him angry for two reasons. One: he doesn't like not knowing things, and two: when it comes to Hiyori, he hates to see her in harm's way. She is one of the few people that he gets this way for. If she were to die, it would take quite a toll on him as well. She was his lieutenant, after all.

Hiyori doesn't say anything in return. She just turns to her former captain, looks him in the eyes with the terror still plain on her face, and does the one thing that she promised never to do. Falling into Kisuke's embrace, she lets go. She lets go of her tears, lets go of all the emotions pent up inside. _I guess this is as close to Captain Hikifune as I can get_. They stand there for about five minutes, him just letting her cry her heart out, before she backs out of his front and whispers the barest of 'thank you's. Then she turns around to look at Ichigo. He is lying there, twitching every so often, his face set in a mortified look as though his whole world has been destroyed. And in a way, it has been.

…**..**

Ichigo awakens to the sound of another skyscraper collapsing, its support beams finally giving way after all of the stress put on their weakened state. His eyes snap open and his upper body shoots up, looking for anything that could signify the presence of Zangetsu. However, he is not there. In his place is a stark white mirrored version of himself, right down to the last spike in his hair.

"What the hell have you done here?" Ichigo growls out, looking as though he is going to rip his hollow apart. "Where the hell is Zangetsu?"

"**When you say Zangetsu, do you mean…"**That one gets him a kick to the face.

"Quit with the shit, now tell me what you've done here!" Ichigo yells at his inverted doppelganger.

"**Now now King, I don't like your tone,"** the hollow says, as he pulls the negative impersonation of Zangetsu off of his back. **"Besides, I didn't do a damned thing! It's YOUR mind that makes up this world; therefore it's YOUR mind that's breaking! Every time you use my power, you get just a LITTLE more unstable, so I guess it is my fault after all. Oops!"**and with that, Ichigo's other half rushes forwards to the readily awaiting real Ichigo.

What Ichigo doesn't expect, however, are the next words that come out of the beast's mouth.

"**In just a little while, I'll have complete control over our body, King, and then I'll take my time in enjoying that little Hiyori!"**

That's when something snaps. And that something just so happens to be the hollow's face, around Ichigo's knuckles. Ichigo then grabs the instinctual being's face and slams it into the barely standing skyscraper, causing the glass to all but shatter in his newly reinforced Inner World. So what if that reinforcement is anger?

The cracks then start to grow in white hot anger.

_Oh, that's what._

Deciding that his torturer could use a little bit of agony himself, Ichigo presses his hollow's face into the pressure fractures, causing the white body to writhe and scream in pain.

"Do not, EVER, go near her again. Do not speak of her. Do not even think of her. If you do, I will know. And when I get back here, I will PERSONALLY do this and MORE. AGAIN. Do you understand?" hearing no response but screams of agony, his anger starts to boil over. In the form of lava. Seeing this, the horse is quick to respond to his king.

"**YES! I UNDERSTAND! JESUS KING, GET ME OUT OF HERE!"**

Something about hearing a being of instinct and fear scream out in pure instinctual fear just has a certain appeal to it, Ichigo finds. He then promptly picks his hollow up by the throat and holds him over the fiery liquid. "Now bring Zangetsu back!"

"**DAMMIT KING! I ALREADY TOLD YOU! I AM ZANGETSU!"**

"I said NOW!" He then lets the monster's hair get singed, almost lighting on fire, which gets his agreement easily. He then vanishes, and Zangetsu appears before him, on top of a pole that is seemingly unharmed by the fiery magma oozing around it.

"Ichigo," the deep, ominous voice of Zangetsu is released from the being's lips. "Calm down. Please, we must try and repair this world, not destroy it further."

"You're right, Zangetsu. Glad you're back, old man." Ichigo starts to breath deeply, and the lava dries up, seeping through the already sealing cracks. Ichigo then opens his eyes again. He looks at Zangetsu, and decides that if anyone were able and willing to help him sort things out, it would be him. "Zangetsu, can I trust you? I mean, outside of battle? As a friend?"

"Of course, Ichigo. I am willing to help in any way that I can."

"Well, it's just that… I'm scared, Zangetsu," Ichigo confides to his sword. He would never say that to anyone else. After all, Zangetsu is just a being of his own spirit, isn't he? So it's not like he is actually confiding in somebody. He just wants to vent.

"What are you afraid of, Ichigo? Are you afraid of your hollow taking over? Are you afraid of losing control? Or, are you afraid of hurting Hiyori?"

"You hit it right on the nail, old man. I just, I don't know what to do! If I stay how I am, he will definitely take over, but I'm afraid of going back there anymore."

"Why are you afraid, Ichigo? Do you fear that they will treat you differently?"

"No, it's not that. It's just, I don't want to hurt them again."

"You mean, hurt her again. You never touched anybody there other than Miss Sarugaki."

"Well, I suppose you're right as always, Zangetsu. Thanks, I owe you one."

"No, Ichigo. It is I that owes you; you have saved me yet again from that hollow, and we have already fixed most of our problem."

As Ichigo looks around, he notices just how much this talk with Zangetsu helped. Already, buildings are rebuilding, with only the slight cracks of minute amounts of worry etched into them. "Wow, looks like you're right again, Zangetsu. See ya later, old man."

"Goodbye Ichigo."

And with that, Ichigo plunges back into reality.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: As promised, a new chapter! And it's longer, too! I put a lot of work into this one, and the spark is made. Please review guys! I really would appreciate it! Right after this one goes up, I will be working on the next. I have tried to keep it as in character as possible, but I needed to move the story along. Please send feedback!**

**Disclaimer: Although you may confuse this as the real deal, Tite Kubo owns the awesomeness**

As Ichigo stirs in his sleep, Shinji is watching him intently. At this point, Hiyori is never going to come out of her room again. Hell, she may even move in with Kisuke. The other vizards have all decided that it would be best if he were to stay at the warehouse, and sleep and train inside Hachi's triple barrier. If another incident like the last one happens again, it could be bad.

He still can't believe that Hiyori almost died. They didn't even know about it. They were inside the barrier, so they couldn't feel any spiritual pressure that wasn't within a five mile radius. And, it was his idea to not go after Hiyori. He thought it better to just let her come back. It was all his fault that she was now traumatized.

"Shin…ji…?" Ichigo flips his lids up, squinting at the man leaning against the wall.

"Hey, Ichigo. I see you're finally awake. It's about time you got off your ass," Shinji replies.

"Where the hell am I?"

"Where do you think? You're at the warehouse. Hachi put up some barriers as a… safety precaution. Don't worry, you're safe."

"Where's Hiyori? Is she safe?" Ichigo looks like he just remembered that he had a test that he didn't study for, sitting up and looking around frantically.

"Yeah, Kisuke's got her. She in the other room, but I wouldn't go in there if I were you. She's liable to pull her zanpakuto into Shikai on you."

That makes Ichigo relax a little. "Thanks. But I think I should. I can't run away from this. I need to stand up and face this like anything else."

"Whatever you say, Ichigo. Just don't get yourself killed."

"Thanks, but it's not me I'm worried about."

"Oh, and Ichigo, we've decided that you should stay here with us, until all of this is settled. Otherwise, you may be a danger to everyone, especially your family."

"You really think that's a good idea? What about Hiyori?"

"Don't worry, you'll be in a barrier when you're training and sleeping. That'll at least give us a heads up. Other than that, I don't know. Maybe you can patch things up with her."

"I guess I'll just have to find out, won't I?" Ichigo gets up and walks out of the room, searching for Hiyori's spiritual pressure as Hachi lowers the barrier. When he finds it, he walks towards it, hoping that he will be able to work things out.

…**..**

_What am I doing?_ This is not what she does. She never allows people to hold her, especially not _Captain_ Urahara. She never just sits there, letting someone drape their arms around her, whispering words of comfort to her. But right now, she can't do anything else. All her tears were let out into this mans shirt earlier, so she can't cry. And because she cried, she has no desire to talk. She doesn't feel like getting angry and violent, so she has nothing left to do.

Then, the door opens. She snaps her head to the figure in the frame, already knowing who it is. And she can't let anyone see her like this.

"Hiyori, hey, I just wanted to say-"

_*SMACK*_

"OW! WHAT THE HELL!?"

"How about you knock, dumbass!?"

"I was GOING to apologize! But it seems like you don't need it!"

"And why's that, dumbass!?"

"Because you're hitting me again!"

"Meh, it's how I vent. Now apologize, dumbass!"

"No, why should I!?"

_*SMACK*_

"WOULD YOU STOP THAT!?"

"Apologize and I might, dumbass!"

"I've got a better idea, snaggletooth! How about you STOP HITTING ME and LET ME TALK!?"

_*SMACK*_

"GODDAMMIT, YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

"Look who's talking! I'm at least twelve times your age, dumbass!"

"Oh bother. I wonder if I should stop them."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT ME BEING OLD!?"

"I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING, YOU DID!"

_*SMACK SMACK SMACK*_

"…Nah."

*10 minutes of yelling and smacking later*

"Alright you two, that's enough. Ichigo, I believe you came in here for a reason." Kisuke says, which stops both of them as they cross their arms and turn away from each other.

"Hiyori… I'm sorry," Ichigo mumbles.

"Yeah yeah, dumbass, I bet you are."

"No, I mean for earlier. I couldn't stop him. I'm afraid of what would've happened if Hat'N'Clogs hadn't interrupted back there."

"I get, dumbass, just shut up and let's get back to training so that we can get that thing under control."

The fact that she said 'we' instead of 'you' did not go unnoticed by Ichigo, and he wonders why it is that the statement sends a quiver down his spine and heat in his body. _She's just talking about training, and I don't even like her like that… right?_ Right.

**Wrong.**

Wrong?

**Right.**

Wait. What?

**Exactly.**

*Zangetsu's pole shakes*

_Stop that!_

**What's wrong King? Ya know, hearing voices in your head is the first sign of insanity.**

_Shut up._

**It's not healthy king!**

_Zangetsu, please shut him up._

**Whoa, old man, what are you doing?**

**_Bakudo number 61, Rikujokoro._**

*Six beams of light appear around the hollow's throat*

_Thanks, Zangetsu. Wait, you can use Kido?_

**_Yes, Getsuga Tensho IS technically a Kido type attack, after all. If you want, I can teach you._**

_I may have to take you up on that._

_*SMACK*_

"Don't just stand there, dumbass! Get back to training!"

"GAHFREAKINGDAMMIT WOMAN! CAN A MAN NOT GET SOME TIME TO TALK TO HIS SWORD!?"

"Ichigo, are you ok?"

"What do you mean, 'am I ok'? Of course I'm not! I've got the little bastard inside my head and the little devil outside of it!"

_*SMACK*_

"Just get downstairs already, dumbass!"

"Fine! Just stop hitting me!"

Surprisingly, Hiyori refrains from smacking him again, instead slipping the WMD known as her sandal back on. As they make their way underground, they find Hachi waiting to put up the barrier. They get to training, and when lunch rolls around, they have worn each other out to the point that even if Ichigo's hollow were to take over right then, it wouldn't be able to move.

…

After lunch, Hiyori decides that it's time to put Ichigo through some cardio. As she chases him around the room, breaking cliff faces with the slightest of touches of her feet, Ichigo decides that he is too tired to defend that kind of attack at the moment. So, Hiyori gets the desired effect; Ichigo running around the underground expanse nonstop.

Feeling a bit tired of the current turn of events, Hiyori actually attempts to hit Ichigo with all she's got. "I right here, dumbass!" she yells as she Flash Steps in front of him. Wrong move.

"It's about damned time you tried something like that! Bankai!" As the blast of spiritual pressure dies down a bit, Ichigo grabs Hiyori's ankle and attempts to throw her. However, Hiyori is more shocked than anticipated, and reaches out to grab something to hold onto. That thing just so happens to be Ichigo's head. And as most people who have just received a jump scare, she hugs the object into her chest, even if just for a second. Alright, two seconds. Or five. Either way, as soon as she realizes where Ichigo's face is planted, she releases, and promptly removes her sandal.

_*SMACK*_

"Pervert!"

"What!? You were the one who put my face into your chest!"

"But you didn't resist!"

"Because you had me in a death grip!"

"Are you saying that you couldn't get out of my grip?"

"Not when you surprise me like that!"

"Yeah right! You were just laying there enjoying it, weren't you!"

"No, I wasn't! What's there to enjoy, anyway!?"

_*SMACK*_That one sends him flying.

In all reality, Ichigo HAD enjoyed it, even if only a little. Okay, a lot. She was actually filling out quite nicely. Not enough to be seen under the baggy top she where's, but enough to fill out an actual bra, as he felt oh so clearly.

And truth be told, she enjoyed it too. Not that anyone would ever know that. She was proud to be the only remaining virgin Vizard after all. Yes, even Hachi had gotten some at one point. Ichigo was the only other one, and he technically didn't associate with them. That makes her the only one, and she intends to stay that way until she finds the one she wants to marry. And Ichigo definitely is NOT that one. Right?

Right.

**Wrong.**

_Wrong? Oh, shut up!_

**What's the matter, little princess? What's got your panties in a wad? Oh yeah, the fact that they have never come off for anyone!**

_Shut up! What's so wrong with waiting, huh? Not everyone relies on pure instinct, ya know!_

**No, but you do! Listen, I'm just sayin' that you need to lighten up a little bit! Let loose! Or better yet, let ME loose!**

_Shut up, it's never gonna happen!_

**Just kidding, jeez! Still, you should try and get out a bit more! And before you go on about the Soul Society finding us again, just think; if you've got tall, dark, and strawberry over here with you, they can't touch you!**

_And what makes you think that? He's not all powerful, ya know! I can beat him with only my sandal!_

**Don't you listen? He's told you, over and over again, that he won't attack you for real without your zanpakuto! Don't believe me? Then try it!**

Deciding that it would be better to just comply and give the hollow what it wants, Hiyori gives in; she draws her zanpakuto, which instantly gets Ichigo's attention.

"So, you're finally gonna take me seriously, are you?"

"Shut up! I'm just doing this so that she'll shut up!"

"What is that supposed to mean? Who the hell were you talking to!?"

"Just shut up, will you!?" And with that, she kicks off of the ground where she was standing, and swings at Ichigo, who counters easily, sliding Tensa Zangetsu down her blade, catching the hilt, allowing Ichigo to knee Hiyori in the gut and let her fall to the ground.

**Told ya so.**

_Shut up! It was just a fluke!_

When she regains her balance, Hiyori zooms up, back to Ichigo, who simply waits for her, determined to make her use her Shikai before switching to offense. As Hiyori swings at him again, he parries easily, and catches her right foot as it travels towards his face. This time, he is successful in throwing her properly; and into the ground as well.

**Still think it was a fluke?**

_Shut up!_

"Butcher them, Kubikiri Orochi!"

"It's about damned time! Now I won't feel bad about kicking your ass!" Pulling on his mask yet again, Ichigo tears after her at unimaginable speeds, and slams his black blade into Hiyori's saw like one. However, his enthusiasm is quickly curbed, as his sword slips into one of the huge grooves of Kubikiri Orochi. However, he never loses his grip. As Hiyori moves her arms to throw Tensa Zangetsu, he simply gets flung with it.

_Ok, so head on attacks won't work. How about this?_

Speeding towards her once again, Ichigo stops about 10 feet short of her and begins to run around her in circles, creating dozens of after images of himself, and waits for an opening.

_Damn, he's fast._

**And hot too.**

_Shut up already!_

**How about this: If you can catch him, I'll be quiet for a whole month, but if you don't, you pull that hunk of meat into you and plant a hot one on him, right on the lips.**

_What the hell!? Remind me, who's in charge here?_

**You, but that doesn't mean I can't be annoying as hell. This is only the beginning. C'mon, you agreed to do what I said earlier didn't you?**

_Fine, but when I win, you shut up for a WHOLE month. Not a sound. Not so much as a tiny giggle._

**Deal!**

Closing her eyes, Hiyori starts tracking Ichigo's spiritual pressure. As she senses where he is, she lashes out, only for him to kick her in the side from her left.

**STEERIKE ONE!**

Getting to her feet, Hiyori dashes towards Ichigo, only to have him disappear and reappear above her, grabbing her head and throwing her at a nearby cliff face.

**Remind me, who's training who here?**

_Shut up! I've still got this!_

It is at that moment that Ichigo appears before her, upper cutting her into the air, only to practically teleport above her as she nears the peak of her ascent, and swings his left leg into her midsection, knocking the wind from her and launching her at the ground. This is seen by none other than Shinji himself, who calls out to them.

"Ichigo! Hiyori! Dinner!"

Masks are removed, and zanpakutos are resealed. As they head upstairs, there is only one thing that is on the young (old) girl's mind. _Oh god…_

…**.**

Dinner was surprisingly well stocked. And not all from a box.

"Think of it as a welcoming party," Shinji says, as he sits down next to Ichigo. "This is a rare meal for us, given only on special occasions."

"Uh… thanks… I guess," Ichigo replies. "Anyway, you guys didn't have to do all this for me, I mean, I don't eat all that much, ya know?"

"Nonsense, Ichigo. We are happy to do what we can to help you feel at home, given the circumstances," Hachi says in a jovial tone. Ichigo just thanks god that Hachi is the one that became a Vizard instead of Tessai. Ichigo would not be able to handle that too well.

"How'd you make it all, anyway? I didn't see a kitchen anywhere in this place."

"Why, we used Kido of course. I used some barriers to make pot and pans, and making a fire is no problem at all. It's actually quite effective, and you don't have to wash any dishes, besides the plates!"

"Well, I say let's dig in," Love says, eyeing the mashed potatoes hungrily.

"Agreed," Kensei adds, as he grabs for a steak.

_*SMACK SMACK*_

"Wait your turn, dumbasses! I was here first!"

"Jeez, Hiyori, you're so mean!" Mashiro whines, grabbing onto Kensei's arm to try and offer support, only managing to annoy him further.

"Would ya knock it off, Mashiro?" Kensei says, lifting his arm out of Mashiro's reach.

"I was just trying to offer some support, ya big meanie!" Mashiro pouts, turning and crossing her arms while puffing out her bottom lip.

"No, it's not- it's just- Mashiro, come on…" As Kensei continues to try and coax Mashiro out of her pouting state, everybody else grabs their food and sits in their usual spot, leaving Ichigo standing in the middles of the room, wondering where would be a comfortable area.

Remembering a rather nice-looking, non-destroyed cliff face downstairs, he heads down, and in a Flash Step, is sitting down on the rock of choice.

…

After dinner, everyone goes back to whatever they were doing before, except for Hiyori, who is too worn out to train. Instead, she decides to find Ichigo to get that kiss over with. She had contemplated not doing it, but her hollow would not have. She threatened to never shut up, even when Hiyori sleeps, and to occasionally scream at random times, just to mix things up. So, that was out of the question.

As Hiyori stands at the base of the stairs that lead back up to the warehouse, she looks for Ichigo's spiritual pressure, finding it instantly. It's almost scary how familiar she's become with it, almost like breaking in a new coat. She pushes the thought from her mind, trying to mentally prepare herself for what she is about to do.

**Oh come on, princess! This isn't something you prepare for! It's pure instinct!**

_Shut up and let me do this. I can't do it with you blabbering in my head the whole time._

Once she spots him, she Flash Steps to him, standing right behind him. Breathing deeply, she refrains from smacking him with her sandal and running away. Instead, she coughs quietly to get his attention.

"Hey, Ichigo…" she starts nervously, looking at the suddenly interesting ground.

"Yeah, what is it, Hiyori?" Ichigo asks as he stands up to look at her.

Then, she lunges. It starts out as a very chaste peck on the lips, but something inside her compels her to keep the contact. And it wasn't her hollow. Ichigo, completely shocked, decides to just go along with it. He doesn't know why, but it just seems so… right.

Then something else pushes them both to put their tongues to work. That may or may not have been their hollows. But at that moment, neither cares. They just bask in the embrace caused by their dancing lips. Then, Hiyori backs down off of Ichigo, breaking the kiss and regaining her senses. She Flash Steps as far away as possible, the embarrassment making itself known in the form of a light dust of pink in her cheeks. Ichigo's senses, however, have gone on ahead to next week, and may not be seen until then.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: It is I, yet again! And a new chapter! This one has some fluff in it, but is also pretty heavy. Please! Review! I'm totally in the dark here!**

**Disclaimer: Praise- Tite Kubo**

"Whoa." Ichigo can finally speak again. Thinking, however, comes a little later. _That was… FRIGGIN' AWESOME! I wonder if Hiyori enjoyed that too… speaking of which… where did she go?_"Hiyori?" Ichigo calls out to her, but it falls on deaf ears. He tries sensing her spiritual pressure and succeeds. But he doesn't expect the feelings that are in it. He can tell that Hiyori is freaking out. Her energy is pulsating and unsteady. And he can tell that she is feeling… pleasure. He doesn't know how, but he can tell that she is just as happy with the kiss as he is. She just doesn't know how to handle it. Truthfully, neither does he. All he knows is that he wants get near her again.

And so, that is exactly what he does.

…**.**

_What the hell was that!? And why did I like it so much!?_It was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. It was like someone went into the pleasure center in her head and started to have a seizure on the controls. So many feelings were released that she couldn't tell one from the other. All she new is that she liked it, and that she wanted to do it again.

But what about him? How had he felt about it? He wasn't the one to break it off, but then again, she had caught him off guard. However, when the kiss deepened, they had both participated with equal enthusiasm. So that meant that he liked it, right?

And so what if he did? That doesn't mean he would do it again. And if he would, would it feel the same way? Or would it have lost its appeal? And what would that make them?

There were so many thoughts going through her head, so many questions, that she didn't notice him approaching until he was right there in front of her.

"Hiyori, what the hell was that about?" he asked_. Oh_ _no. He hadn't liked it, had he? Well, there's no point in crying over spilled milk._

"What do you mean? The kiss? Well, if you didn't like it, just say so, dumbass!"

"That's not what I said. I asked where it came from. I… I did like it, Hiyori. And I can tell you did too.

"Oh yeah? And how's that, dumbass?" _How does he know?_

"I don't know, I can just… feel it, in your spiritual pressure."

Hiyori then searches her own spiritual pressure and finds nothing. However, when she catches a whiff of Ichigo's… _Oh my god._ It is almost intoxicating. It feels so warm and caring, yet firm and assertive at the same time, with a hint of danger and excitement. And, she, too, can feel how pleased Ichigo is.

"So… what does that make us?" Ichigo asks.

"Is it supposed to make us anything, dumbass?"

"I don't know! I've never done this before, ya know! I'm just trying to figure out what we are supposed to do next!"

"Wait… you mean…." _It's his first kiss too…_

"What? You aren't making any sense, Hiyori. And what are we supposed to do now?"

"Well, how about this!"

And just like that, she jumps him again. This time though, they keep the kiss going on longer, and Ichigo places his hands on her waist, with Hiyori's arms wrapped around his neck. They keep it clean this time. However, that does not mean that it wasn't deep. When they separate, they look into each others eyes, seeing the pleasure mixed with desire in them, along with no small degree of uncertainty.

Then, it happens.

A large spiritual pressure has just appeared, most likely through way of Garganta. The misty looks in their eyes are replaced with determination as they detach from each other. They Flash Step up the stairs, and see everyone gathered around the entrance.

"Hachi, please put Ichigo in a barrier," Shinji says, to which Hachi grunts and makes a sign with his hands, forming an orange three layer barrier around him.

"What the hell, Shinji!?" Ichigo is furious. He wants to help, but he already knows the answer before it comes. And that makes it all that much harder.

"You know why we are doing this, Ichigo. You'd just be a danger to us all. Right now, you're just a liability."

That one stung. A lot. He knows that it's true, and that there is nothing he can do but wait until all the fighting is over and continue to train. However, he can't just sit around and do nothing! He needs to do something, anything…

"Hey Shinji, you think you can handle this one?" Hiyori asks. She can tell that Ichigo is getting restless, and that they should probably get him doing something, otherwise he probably WILL go insane.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Of course we can take it."

"Then I'm taking the dumbass here to go train. Hachi, move the barrier to downstairs, will ya?"

"Sure I can, but do you think that it is wise?"

"What exactly do you mean by that? Do you mean that you can't handle a little sparring match? Jeez, I thought you were supposed to be good at this stuff!"

"No, I just mean that it may not be the best decision in a time like this."

"Listen, just do it, ok? Otherwise the dumbass in there is gonna blow a gasket, which none of us want."

"…Very well." Hachi then moves the barrier as the two walk back downstairs. When down there, they just stare at each other for a moment, unsure as to what to do. Ichigo is the first to speak up.

"What was all that about?"

"What was what about? You should be thankful, dumbass!"

"I know, and I am. But why? I can tell that you're worn out, and you don't need to do this."

*_SMACK*_"Just shut up and start training, dumbass!"

"Alright, I get it already!"

And so, they trained, Hiyori finally understanding that she needs to use her zanpakuto, while Shinji went out to kill whatever it was that was causing such a nuisance. After another hour or two, they decide to stop for the night and go to bed.

…**..**

**Oh, Ichigooooooooooo….**

Ichigo snaps his eyes open to see his hollow standing before him, the counterfeit Zangetsu rest on his shoulder. He then reaches for the real Zangetsu, only to grab air. He feels his back and, sure enough, Zangetsu isn't there. He looks back at his hollow, who somehow went into Bankai in the blink of an eye.

"**Whatcha lookin' for, Ichigo?"**

"Dammit, where is he? Where is Zangetsu?"

"**Who needs that old man? It's just me and you in here, Ichigo. And in here, I'M king!"**

"Yeah right, you scum. Now, get lost, and go get Zangetsu."

"**I've already told you, Ichigo, Zangetsu can't help you here. You're all alone! Well, not totally alone. You've got me here with ya! Oh, and let's not forget…"**Ichigo's hollow summons an office chair out of nowhere, and there are two familiar spiky pigtails popping over it. He then turns the chair around to show Ichigo something that makes his heart stop beating. **"… The guest of honor!"**With one of his patented laughs, he launches at Ichigo, who barely manages to dodge, but only because of what is still visible in the chair.

There sits Hiyori, or at least, an image of her, only she looks as though she has just been processed. She is completely naked, and covered in cuts of various sizes and depths. Each one looks to be infected heavily, and no efforts have been made to treat her. She is covered in blood, grime and dirt. But what sickens him the most, out of the whole image, is the white liquid that seems to have been directed at her face, chest, and nether regions. Her knees are tied so that her legs are spread, revealing a patch of flesh that looks as though it has been broken and torn from relentless pounding. Her arms are tied to the arms of the chair, and her head is lolled to the side in a dazed state.

It takes all of him to not puke and cry at the same time. Instead, he turns to his hollow, and channels everything into rage. He tears after it, completely forgoing any strategy. As the monster swings downwards at Ichigo, he kicks the side of the blade with all of his strength and reishi channeled through his foot, shattering the fake zanpakuto into a hundred pieces. Then, he punches his hollow in the gut so hard that the creature is sent zooming upwards, only to have Ichigo already waiting for him. Ichigo kicks his twisted self in the spine, shattering said bone, rendering the beast paralyzed from the waist down (yes, it DOES work that way).

As the stark white being is left to fall to the ground, Ichigo runs to Hiyori. _This can't be real… please don't let this be real… this is just a dream… wait… it IS just a dream… and that means…_Ichigo imagines that Hiyori is cleaned up and fully dressed. He breathes a sigh of relief before turning to his hollow.

"You think that you can just take over my dreams, do you? You think that you can just… just barge in here and twist all of the good things in my life?" He steps on his hollow's back and shifts some of his wait onto its broken spine. "Well, news flash, I've already told you. DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT HER!" And with that, he starts to curb stomp the creature repeatedly, moving slowly up its spine until he stops at its neck. As he presses down on its airways, he puts his face right in front of his hollow's.

"Because I made a promise, and I think that I've kept it pretty well. Next time, I'll leave you completely paralyzed, along with some meetings with Zangetsu. And yes, when I say Zangetsu, I mean the one that I hold in my hand. I don't think that I even have to ask if I am understood."

Then, he feels his half mask growing, and feels the being under his foot dissipate into nothingness. As he struggles to keep control over his body, Ichigo realizes that Hiyori has been returned to her original state, only the chair is gone; in its place is the white figure himself, poised to enter her. Ichigo completely forgets about his hollow currently taking over, and instead focuses on the one defiling Hiyori. He knows that he can't get there in time without at least his Bankai, so he does the only thing he can without Zangetsu; he pulls on his mask.

The growing half mask is absorbed by the new one, changing the pattern to create the image of a tribal tattoo looking tiger along the side. He takes off with new found speed, at least twice as fast as he once was, and extends a (_clawed?_) hand towards his other half's throat, ripping it away from his beloved before it can penetrate the already broken flesh. He imagines there being a pillar, and it's there; for all of about two seconds before they fly through it. He imagines there being five more and he slows down considerably; slow enough to only go HALFWAY through the last pillar.

He then plunges his free hand into its abdomen, searching for a very recently broken series of bones. When he finds what he is looking for, he gives it a slight tug, which rips the spine out of its place and into the open air easily. Deciding that this is not enough, he wraps the spine around the creature's neck, cutting of airflow. Then, he points two clawed fingers into its gut, and a ball of red light appears. As he fires off the cero, it burns a whole through the already dying monster's innards, leaving a whole big enough to crawl through.

"I WARNED YOU, DIDN'T I!?" he yells at his hollow, drowning out its cries of pain with his overly hollowfied voice. If it weren't for the orange hair and the determination in his black and golden eyes, he would be almost unrecognizable; his body is covered in what seems to be an orange and black striped wetsuit, complete with a claw on each finger and toe. He has a blood red flowing and torn hakama on, similar to Zangetsu's cloak.

He then uses the vertebrate to fling the monster into the air, before Flash Stepping above it, falling feet first into its chest, slamming it into the ground. Instead of getting of, however, he starts to clutch it its abdomen with his clawed toes, making even more wounds on its body, from which the blood spurts.

Before the hollow dissipates, however, it says one thing. **"So, THAT'S how I get you to fully hollowfy…."**

And then, Ichigo is let out of the nightmare. He sits up in cold sweat, eyes wide and breathing heavy. He looks around to make sure that he is indeed in his room, and that Hiyori is not there. Then, he gets up and walks _through_ the barrier; subconsciously manipulating the spirit energy that it consists of to conform to and around his body.

He goes to Hiyori's room to be sure that she is safe. Sure enough, she is still fast asleep. He just stands there for a minute, watching her sleep peacefully, when her face turns to one of hurt. She starts to mumble something incoherent, which quickly increases in volume, her all but screaming at her beloved Captain Hikifune to not leave her.

Thinking out of instinct, Ichigo walks quickly but silently to her bedside, sits down, and cups her cheek, whispering words of comfort to her while gently rubbing her cheek with his thumb. She soon settles down, returning to a state of deep and peaceful sleep.

Ichigo, deciding that it would be awkward if he were caught in Hiyori's room, NOT inside the barrier (_which reminds me, how DID I get out of there?_), and not wanting to try and get back in, he walks down the steps to the underground training area to find his new favorite rock.

…**.**

"Captain Hikifune! Don't leave me! Please!" Hiyori sobs, clutching her mother figure's captain's robe. She can't believe that she is leaving her behind, abandoning her…

"Listen to me, Hiyori," Kirio replies, lifting her lieutenant's chin up with her finger. "I'm not doing this to hurt you. To be honest, I don't even want to go. But, I have my duties, which are to now protect the Spirit King personally. I will probably never see you again, unfortunately. However, I will always be with you in spirit." She then stands up and walks towards the head captain. She hands in her captain's robe for one with the zero division's marking on the back. As she turns to the gateway to the royal dimension, she throws one last look to Hiyori. "Goodbye, Hiyori."

And just like that, she's gone. Gone from sight, gone from her life. Hiyori falls to her knees and begins to cry out, screaming at her former captain to come back to her. Then, she feels a familiar warmth around her, and a hand on her cheek; she looks up to see Ichigo smiling down on her. "Shh, it's okay. I'm here, you don't have to worry," he says as his spiritual pressure blankets her, allowing her to bask in its comforting feel. She stops sniffling and eventually smiles.

When his hand leaves her face, she looks up, and he's gone. She can still feel him, though, which puts her at ease. She knows that he isn't going anywhere. However, she feels the need to be near him again. As she stirs in her sleep, her consciousness is regained, allowing her to get up and look for the source of warmth. When she gets downstairs, she knows exactly where to go. She Flash Steps to the cliff face and sits down next to Ichigo.

"Couldn't sleep, huh?" he asks rather guiltily. He looks at Hiyori, who is already looking at him, as though she wants to get closer to him.

"No, I couldn't. I thought I'd come out here to clear my head," she says, as she looks out over the artificial horizon which somehow has a day and a night.

"Me too," he replies, though he knows that they are there for two completely different reasons. But he'd rather not think of that right now. Instead, he takes the hint, and lifts his right arm and motions towards Hiyori. When she looks at him questioningly, he scoffs. "Oh come off it, you're looking at me like a predator would its prey. C'mon." he motions again, and this time Hiyori complies, not feeling in the mood for fighting. Instead, she just enjoys the warmth of Ichigo's arm around her, along with the manly musk emanating off of his body, which just adds to her attraction to him. _Now I'M the dumbass._

As they watch the fake sunrise, they watch it in companionable silence, neither speaking a word, but just enjoying each other's company.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Okay! Long chapter! This is the last of the chapters that I will be uploading daily. Therefore, I made it a bit longer. This one's got some fluff in it, but it's mostly story and how it ties in with the canon show. There are some differences, as to be expected. So, forgive me if you believe I did something wrong. Anyway, please, PLEASE review!**

**Disclaimer: Meh. I'm too tired to think of anything witty.**

"Hey Kisuke, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I think that you already know the answer to that, Shinji."

"Yeah, I guess so. Well, what are we going to do about him, then?"

"That's actually why I called you here, Shinji. I think I know why he's having such a hard time getting his hollow under control."

"And what's your theory? We need to get onto getting this whole mess solved before someone gets hurt."

"My thoughts exactly. Tell me, Shinji, what are hollows made of, besides a crooked soul?"

"Fear and pure instinct, I guess. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, if hollows are made of instinct and fear, then wouldn't it make sense that it takes fear to take over one's soul?"

"Well yeah, I guess. But that still doesn't explain how we fix this problem. Or why this is a problem in the first place, for that matter. I've been scared on multiple occasions and my hollow never stepped a toe out of line."

"Well, considering Aizen was the one who planted hollows into you all, whereas Ichigo's developed on its own, it would stand to reason that his is more complex and intelligent, therefore harder to control. As for how to fix it, all I can think of is to keep him from feeling severe amounts of fear; make him feel at home, don't let any of his loved ones be put in harms way, et cetera. I'm still working on a long-term solution."

"Thanks, Kisuke. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for Isshin and his daughters."

…**..**

As morning comes, it brings breakfast and more training along with it. Ichigo notices, however that Shinji is not there. He doesn't think much of it, but he does wonder where he could've gone. _Maybe Kisuke's got a way to fix me._ The thought both lightens and darkens his mood. If he has, then it would mean that he could stop worrying about his hollow taking over at any time and that he could go back to his family. However, it would also put a stop to his and Hiyori's nightly 'cuddle time'. While neither of them like to admit it, that is what they do.

It has been about three weeks since that first night, and each night since then, they have gone to the same place and sat in each other's embrace. Sometimes, they talked, and others, they simply sat there.

No one had been told, seeing as they didn't even know what they were yet. Ichigo figured out how he had gotten out of Hachi's barrier and had used the same method each night. So, as far as they knew, their… whatever it is… has been kept a secret between the two of them.

…

At lunch, Shinji pulls Ichigo off to the side and explains to him what Kisuke had said. "You'll be staying here for now, until we can figure out how to help you for the long run."

"Thanks Shinji. I really do appreciate all you have done for me. But, do you think I could just see my family? It's been a while, and they're probably worried sick about me, ya know?"

"Sure thing, Ichigo. I'll take you in when it's my turn to stand watch. Hiyori will stay here and train with you."

"Well, what's the point, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I figured that the more powerful you are, the less you have to fear, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Well, thanks again. For everything"

"Your welcome. You are one of us, after all."

…**.**

That night, Hiyori went to the usual spot. Ichigo was already waiting, as usual. As she slid up next to him, he wrapped his arm around her, and she laid her head on his chest. There was a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes before the orange headed boy spoke up.

"Hey, Hiyori?" he asked in an almost trance like state, not bothering to look down on her.

"Hmmm?" was all the response he got. He was used to this, and it didn't bother him.

"What are we? I mean, like, are we together or what?"

"Well," she began, still looking out into the night. "We could be. There's just one problem."

"And what would that be?"

"Couples go to nice places, and you haven't taken me anywhere."

"Well, when all of this mess is over, remind me to take you to the movies or something," he said, relieved that she was willing to try them out as a 'couple'.

"You better, dumbass. Otherwise, I'll kick your ass!" she responded jokingly. To be honest, the prospect of the strawberry taking her to the movies sent shivers down her spine. She may not have been able to explore much outside, but she knew what happened when I guy takes a girl to the movies.

"So, when are we gonna tell everyone else?"

That one sent different kinds of shivers down her spine. Hiyori wasn't to keen on letting her business out. However, she knew that if this were to go anywhere, they would have to tell the others eventually.

"I guess tomorrow is as good a time as any."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. At breakfast?"

"Sure."

And with that, they sit in silence for another hour or two before going to get their required amount of sleep.

…**..**

In the morning, Shinji notices that Ichigo sits next to Hiyori, instead of his usual spot downstairs. And when Ichigo clears his throat and stands up after everyone sits down with their food, his suspicions are confirmed.

"Hey, everyone, listen… we… err, me and Hiyori that is… we have an announcement to make." Everybody stops eating and turns to look at them. "Well…we, uh… we just wanted to say that we…"

"Oh, for fuck's sake, we're dating, ok?" Hiyori snaps. Everyone just stares at them before they burst out in laughter. "What the hell's so funny!?" she yells at them.

"Do you really think that we wouldn't notice? Seriously, you guys just reek of love." That was Lisa.

"Not to mention you've been sneakin' down to the training grounds for the past three weeks." Love's input.

"What? But how did you-" Ichigo started, only to be interrupted by Shinji.

"Really, Ichigo, you suck at hiding your spiritual pressure and it flares whenever you leave your barrier."

"So, I guess that means that you're all okay with it?" Ichigo asks.

"Well of course! It's about time somebody spices things up around here." That was Rose speaking.

Meanwhile, Mashiro had just worked through what Hiyori had said. "Yay! Berry and Monkey are happy!"

A light blush dusts both people's cheeks as they look at each other.

"Yeah, I guess we are," Ichigo says, and Hiyori just blushes harder and looks away, a smile creeping up on both of their lips.

"So, you two have sex yet?" Lisa, of course.

Light pink goes to beet red as the both turn to look at the perverted Vizard. "WHAT!?" they scream incredulously.

"I'll take that as a no."

"And what is that supposed to mean!?" Hiyori speaks out.

However, she never gets an answer, as four massive spiritual pressures appear. One of which, Ichigo recognizes all too well.

"Grimmjow…" he growls, turning towards the direction that the blue haired arrancar undoubtedly is.

"Ichigo, let us handle this," Shinji says, resting a hand on Ichigo's shoulder.

"But he's here for me!" Ichigo protested. He knew that this would happen. Ever since he first met Grimmjow, he knew that one was destined to end the other.

"That's the point, Ichigo. You're unstable, so you may kill not only him but everyone in Karakura Town."

"Listen, dumbass, just do what he says," Hiyori interjected, looking up at Ichigo. She knew that he could easily any of the arrancar out there, but she couldn't stand the thought of having to kill a hollowfied Ichigo.

"Fine. Just don't die because of his grudge against me. Any of you," he adds, looking around the room.

"Yeah, yeah, Ichigo, don't worry. We'll take him out," Kensei replies with a sideward grin and a thumbs up sign.

Looking around the room once more to check and see that everyone's determination and resolve is set, he nods confirmation to let Hachi put up the barrier. He looks down at Hiyori with a meaningful stare, which she seems to understand completely.

"I know, dumbass. Stop worrying or I'll come in there and kick your ass myself!"

Ichigo chuckles and sits down, prepared to wait for the duration of the battle.

"Well, there's no point in all of us going out there," Shinji begins. "So Hiyori and I will go. Don't worry Ichigo; I'll bring her back without a scratch."

"Thanks, Shinji. I'm counting on you."

_*SMACK*_

"You two speak as though I'm helpless! I'll still kick both of your asses!"

…**.**

As Ichigo sits in the orange walls of the barrier, he is tracking Hiyori and Shinji's spiritual pressure to make sure that they are ok. Alright, just Hiyori's. But he can't help it! He's worried about her. He knows that she can handle herself, but Grimmjow is a reckless son of a bitch. If he were to point a cero in the wrong direction, it could be bad.

Little does Ichigo know, that is exactly what is happening.

…**...**

"Shinji, you dumbass! Watch out!" Hiyori says as she kicks Shinji out of the way of a rather deadly looking cero. However, she did not think this completely through. As the cero hit her in the arm, she managed to avoid anymore damage. However, it did manage to bruise up her arm and cover said appendage in deep looking gashes.

This was not the end of the pain, however, and Grimmjow Sonidoed to her, and covered the rest of her upper body in cuts similar to the ones on her arm. Just as he was about to deliver the finishing blow, however, Shinji intercepted his sword.

Pushing Grimmjow back, Shinji took Hiyori by her waist and set her down on the ground. He did a once over of her, and she was in bad shape. She was losing blood fast, and if he didn't finish this battle soon, she might die. And he was not having that, not after she had just found her happiness. Ichigo would be devastated the most, and would be consumed in grief. More than likely, his hollow would take over completely then. And Shinji would NOT be in the mood to have to put down another part of the family that the Vizards are.

"Where's Ichigo!?" Grimmjow yells at Shinji, who has risen yet again and is looking at Grimmjow with a death glare. When he doesn't respond, and instead attacks, Grimmjow gets annoyed. "I said: WHERE THE HELL IS ICHIGO KUROSAKI!?" he yells as he points a cero at Shinji's chest. Shinji dodges, and attacks again, this time with much more speed and agility. Grimmjow gets really angry now, and decides that it's time to put an end to this. He pushes Shinji off of him and puts his only arm in front him. A blue ball of energy starts to grow and fires off as he yells, "GRAN REY CERO!"

Shinji does not expect the blast radius to be as big as it is, and it hits his legs, all but incinerating them, rendering them useless.

…**..**

Three spiritual pressures, alive and healthy._They're okay._One goes down. _Oh no… who was it?_Then he realizes that it was he newly found happiness. _Hiyori… Hiyori… HIYORI! NO!_

Images from his nightmare so long ago flash in his mind. He pushes them away, trying to calm down so that he could make a reasonable argument as to why Hachi should let him out of this god forsaken barrier.

"Hachi! Let me out of this god forsaken barrier!" Ok, so maybe reasonable arguments were out of the question here. But he was panicking. And Hachi knew that if a panicked Ichigo were let loose right now, things would be bad.

"You know that I cannot do that, Ichigo," Hachi response, only working to make Ichigo mad.

"If you won't let me out of here, I will BREAK out of here!"

"I seriously doubt that, Ichigo. While you may have a large amount of spirit energy, I was once the lieutenant of the Kido Corps."

"We'll see about that!" Ichigo then punches the wall of the barrier, shattering it instantly. Hachi knows that he will have to use a very high level Kido in order the restrain him.

"I apologize for this, Ichigo. Bakudo number 99: Kin" As soon as Hachi finishes the incantation bypass, two black belts wrapped arm Ichigo's upper body, pulling his arms to his sides. Sixteen stones with seals on them planted each end of the belts to the ground, four for each end.

"HACHI! LET ME OUT NOW!" Ichigo yells as his spiritual pressure builds around him. He struggles against the restraints, but to no avail. Hachi really is good at Kido.

As he continues to try and break free, however, his eyes turn black, golden irises moving around wildly. Bits of bone like material starts to creep onto his face as his soul reaper robes are shredding, being replaced by black and orange armor. Hachi notices this and immediately moves to break the still growing half mask, only to be flung across the room before he even touches the fragments by Ichigo's rapidly growing spiritual pressure. This loosens his concentration, therefore loosening the Kido.

And before Hachi can do anything, Ichigo is gone.

…

"Well, looks like this is the end of our fun," Grimmjow states as he nears the still-conscious Shinji. Hiyori is not faring as well. She has passed out and is near death. She needs medical attention NOW.

"So, you really don't wanna tell me where Ichigo is? It's a shame, really. If you did, I might spare you." His empathetic look turns to one of amusement. "Or not," he finishes as he steps on Shinji's chest. He points a finger at him, and a red ball starts to appear. "I guess I'll just have to find him myself," he adds with a tired sigh.

The cero never fires. Instead, Grimmjow's finger is removed. And the cause of this recent development is none other than the orange haired Vizard himself.

"AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHH!" the Sixth Espada cries out. He bends his body around the stump of a finger. He glares at Ichigo, who is now looking down at Shinji.

"What happened? Are you okay? Where's Hiyori? Hiyori!" Ichigo yells out before Shinji can speak. Then, he spots her, lying on the ground, covered in cuts and bruises of all shapes and sizes.

Cuts. Bruises. Chair. Naked. Raped. The images of his dream flash in his mind, and this time he can't stop them. He rushes towards her, and crumples at her side. He lifts her torso in his arms as he checks for a pulse. He can feel one, but just barely. She needs help. However, before he can go to find Orihime, he is reminded of a very pissed off Grimmjow Jaegerjacques.

"You bastard! I'm going to kill you!" However, before he can follow through on his threat, a Garganta opens up and he yellow lights starts to retract him. "NO! I NEED TO KILL HIM! DAMMIT AIZEN! LET ME GO!" His demands are not met, however, and the Garganta is closed behind him.

Ichigo's mask shatters and so does the armor, leaving only the flowing red robe. He picks Hiyori up and tries to find Orihime's spiritual pressure. However, she is nowhere to be found. Just then, Rukia appears.

"Ichigo, I got here as soon as I-" she stops and stares at Ichigo and the girl in his arms. She is badly wounded and he seems about ready to cry. She rushes over to Ichigo, "Ichigo, who is this?"

"Rukia, please…" He looks at Hiyori and back to Rukia. Rukia gets the message and clears some of the rubble and instructs Ichigo to lay her out on the ground. He complies, and she immediately begins healing the young girl. Ichigo then retrieves Shinji and lays him next to Hiyori, and Rukia extends and Kido to the both of them.

"Rukia, where is Orihime? Not to be rude, but Shinji's legs are broken beyond repair, and I'd really like for them to be healed as soon as possible."

Understanding that the people laid out in front of her are close friends of his, she does not take offense from the comment. He is simply worried. "Do not worry; she is on her way here. Her and I were training in the Soul Society when we got the report that four high-powered arrancar had arrived in the world of the living. I left before her, as to get here quicker; she shall be here soon." She smiles softly at Ichigo, who only nods back. His eyes of not come off of the blonde haired girl in the red jumpsuit since she had started the healing process._Wait, are these two…?_

Before she can continue her musing, however, Ichigo stands up abruptly and starts to thrash about. The half mask starts to grow on his face and he looks at his arms.

"**Well, this is no good! The armor isn't appearing!"**Ichigo's hollow then looks at Rukia and then down at Hiyori lying helpless on the ground. **"Maybe if the Queen died…"** He then started walking towards a very terrified Rukia and a very unconscious Hiyori. Shinji starts muttering under his breath. "Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six!" He finishes off in an almost yell. "Bakudo number 61: Rikujokoro! Hey, soul reaper!" he yells at Rukia, who is still in a state of trembling. "Soul reaper! Listen to me! That spell won't him for long! Break the mask on his face with your Kido!"

Rukia then snaps out of her stupor in enough time to recognize what she needs to do. "Right! Hado number 33: Sokatsui!" As the blue fire shoots from her outstretched palm, the half mask is blown into oblivion. The binding wears off, and Ichigo falls to the ground, unconscious.

"Good job, and thanks, soul reaper. I know you have a lot of questions, and I'm willing to answer them, considering that you've probably just saved all four dimensions. But I have one condition: you tell no one what you've seen here. Not your friends, not your captain, and definitely not the head captain. Do we have a deal?"

Rukia blinks for a moment. This person, whom she's never met before, and in normal human clothes and one of Urahara's special gigais, just imprisoned someone capable of killing Head Captain Yamamoto, even if only for a moment, with a high level Kido spell. Ichigo seems to be relatively close to both him and the unconscious girl, and he seemed to know of Ichigo's condition. And on top of that, he is asking her to keep her knowledge him not only Ichigo's hollowfication a secret, but also their being there? Just who was this person?

"Very well. But I expect answers to all of my questions. Now lie back. You still have major injuries that need to be taken care of."

"Oh, these? Nah, Orihime will be able to patch these up. But, if you'd be so kind as to keep Hiyori alive until she gets here, I'd be even greater indebted to you, as would Ichigo."

Nodding, Rukia returns to Hiyori and continues to heal her. _How does he know Orihime? What is going on here?_

As she is lost in thought, she does not feel the presence of three others around her. However, when one of them greets Shinji, she snaps to attention. In front of her are two males and a female. One of the men has short, silver hair and is wearing cargo pants and a tank top. The other is black with black hair that is styled similarly to that of Captain Zaraki's, and is wearing a blue jump suit. The girl has black hair that is tied in a braid in the back, while wearing glasses and a sailor's outfit. All of them are in gigais as well.

"Shinji, what the hell is a soul reaper doing with Hiyori?" the silver haired one asks the man on the ground. _So his name is Shinji, and this girl is Hiyori._

"Calm down Kensei. She seems to know Ichigo and she has agreed to not tell anyone of our involvement in return for answers of her questions."

"Calm down?" the black one speaks up. "How are we supposed to know that she isn't just lying to get information out of us?"

"Well, considering she is keeping Hiyori here alive until miss Inoue gets here, and she stop Ichigo from hollowfying, I'd say that she's alright. Plus, she hasn't said or done anything to indicate that she's lying."

"I still don't trust her." It was the girl's turn to speak up.

"Lisa, please listen to me. I'm not asking that you trust her, just don't kill her, alright?"

Rukia gulps as the one named Lisa looks as though she is seriously contemplating her answer. Obviously they don't like soul reapers very much. _But then, how did the blonde one use Kido?_

"Fine. But the second she makes a wrong move, I'm not holding back."

"You and me both." The black one again.

"Thanks. Kensei, will you help me up? We should probably get out of here before other soul reapers show up."

Kensei grunts and pulls Shinji to his feet, each with their arms on each other's shoulder for support. Lisa takes Hiyori from Rukia and hold's her bridal style. The as-of-yet-unnamed black man picks Ichigo up and throws him over his shoulder and they all Flash Step away. Rukia, snapping out of her own thoughts for the third time in ten minutes, struggles to keep up with them.

…

Ichigo snaps awake and finds that he yet again inside of the orange barrier surrounding his room at the Vizard compound. The last thing he remembers is…_Oh god! HIYORI!_

"Why do I have the strangest feeling of déjà vu?" asks a voice that he identifies as Shinji's. When he finds him, however, he winces. Shinji is sitting in a chair this time with his legs covered up. Ichigo can smell burned flesh and knows exactly what happened. That bastard Grimmjow will have to pay. Especially for what he did to Hiyori…_Hiyori! Where is she?_

"Before you ask, Hiyori is being treated by Hachi. I'm waiting for Orihime to fix me up. And your soul reaper friend is downstairs, waiting for us to go and answer her questions."

"Rukia is here? Well, we better not keep her waiting. She gets kind of scary when she's mad. I dare say that she likes violence even more than Hiyori," he finishes with a chuckle.

As he stands up, he sees Shinji using a pair of crutches, and he winces again. It is his fault that Shinji is now crippled. Sure, Orihime could fix him easily, but he still feels guilt in causing his friend pain. _Speaking of which, where IS Orihime?_

"Well, then let's pray we don't make her angry.

…**.**

_So, this is where Ichigo was for the past month._She remembered the outside of the building when she saw Orihime leaving it. _That explains how they know Orihime, but not about Ichigo._

She snaps to attention when she hears Ichigo's heavy feet walk do the steps, and the sound of Shinji's crutches. Since she had been here, she had learned that the black man was called Love, and that there were three others as well; a tall blonde man in a suit named Rose, a girl with green hair in an orange and white jumpsuit named Mashiro, and a rather large man with pink hair and a pink mustache name Hachi.

"Hey, Rukia. Thanks for earlier. I owe you one."

"Oh, you owe me many more than one. An explanation, perhaps? Why did you just disappear, Ichigo? We were all worried sick about you! We couldn't even sense your spiritual pressure!"

"Listen, Rukia, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving you in the dark like that without any warning. But that's why you are here. Go ahead and ask away."

"Well, for starters, who are these people, and how do you know them?"

"We are known as the Vizards. I assume you've already met everyone, but I'll tell you our names and previous positions anyway. I am Shinji Hirako, former captain of Squad Five. The blonde girl you treated earlier is Hiyori Sarugaki, former lieutenant of Squad Twelve, and former Head Researcher of the Department of Research and Technology. The man who is treating her now is Hachigen Ushoda, former lieutenant of the Kido Corps. The man with the silver hair is Kensei Muguruma, former captain of Squad Nine, and his former lieutenant, Mashiro Kuna, is the one currently hugging his arm. The man in the jumpsuit and shades is Love Aikawa, former captain of Squad Seven. The man in the fancy suit is Rojuro Otoribashi, or Rose, former captain of Squad Three. And the woman you met earlier is Lisa Yadomaru, former lieutenant of Squad Eight."

_WHOA. All of them are former captains and lieutenants of 13 court guard squads!? What happened to all of them!? Do they have something to do with Kisuke and Tessai being banished? And they're Vizards? What are those?_

"A Vizard is someone who has an Inner hollow and can use its power. These guys are just like me," Ichigo explains, seeing the confusion on Rukia's face.

"What happened to all of you? I mean, why did you leave the squads?"

"We didn't leave the squads; we were forced to escape." Lisa speaks up bitterly.

Shinji then explains everything. He tells her about the hollowfication experiments performed by Aizen, and how they were trapped into them as well. He explained Urahara's and Tessai's interference, and how Yoruichi helped them all escaped.

"So you see, that is why we do not care for soul reapers at all. But a friend of Ichigo's is a friend of ours."

Then, Hiyori starts to stir. When she finally comes to, she is infuriated to see a _soul reaper_in the middle of their "home".

"WHAT THE HELL IS A SOUL REAER DOING IN OUR HOUSE!?" she yells as she lunges at Rukia, only to be caught around the waist by Ichigo, who whispers something in her ear. Upon hearing whatever it was, she stares at him in wide eyed horror until she finally finds her voice again. "YOU'RE FRIENDS WITH ONE OF THEM!? YOU TRAITOROUS BASTARD!"

…**..**

After much explaining and MUCH violence, Hiyori finally settles down, but she does not look happy. Rukia notices Ichigo trying to comfort her by putting his arm around her, and how she has her head against his chest, seemingly fine with their position. _So, Ichigo finally found someone. Good for him._ Rukia can't help but feel a twinge of jealousy in her chest. She had once thought about asking Ichigo out, but she knew that they could never be together, especially with Central 46's stupid rules. But she was content with just being a friend. Best friend, mind you. She was happy for Ichigo, and just prayed that one day she could find her "one".

She still can't believe that she's never heard of them before. They had once constituted most of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. Would that mean that her captain knew them? And what about Captains Unohana and Kyoraku? The Head Captain definitely knew of them; of that she's sure. And for whatever reason, this whole incident was covered up. Central 46 aren't even willing to admit their mistake now that they know of Aizen's treachery.

"Well, I assure all of you, I have no intention of going to the Soul Society with any of this. I, too, was ordered to be put to death because of Aizen. Ichigo is the one who saved me, even though he was told to stay put. Anyone who considers Ichigo a friend can consider me one as well."

Hiyori, while still not liking the idea of a soul reaper in their "house", looked up at Ichigo, who nodded in confirmation. That just made her attraction to him even greater. He had gone against all of the Soul Society and WON for a person he had only known for two months. Although this made her even more wary of Rukia, she had a feeling that Ichigo wasn't going anywhere. Plus, he could make the Soul Society publically apologize and they would no longer be fugitives! However, she would never go back there again, and she knew what happened to deserters. She was NEVER going back to the Maggots' Nest again.

Ultimately, she was just glad Ichigo was hers and hers alone, and that he would never leave her, even if the Soul Society threatened to kill him and his family. He would just walk in, beat the crap out of everyone, and walk out, as if nothing ever happened. The thought of being this close to someone so powerful yet gentle was just so… Exhilarating. She just hoped that she could keep up with him. She knows how much more powerful he is than she ever will be, but she also knows that he doesn't mind. In fact, he enjoys being the hero, the protector. And in all honesty, she sort of liked being protected sometimes, to be held in the arms of a being stronger than her that is willing to give his life for hers. Not that she would ever tell him that. She would just let him have his way sometimes. But not always, because she was not helpless. But in a situation like the one that had happened just a mere hour before, it was good to know that someone will always be there for you, to catch you if you fall.

And, of course, there was the feeling that she got whenever he actually held her. It just warmed her whole body, allowing her to bask in his gentle and caring yet strong arms. Plus, she could get drunk off of his spiritual pressure if it were a liquid. It just made her feel so… pleased.

And, oh god, this kisses! He gave AMAZING kisses. They made her whole body feel as if it would explode from pleasure. She just couldn't get enough of them.

Little did she know, he shared the exact same thoughts.

As he stared down at the small girl in his arms, he smiled inwardly. He knew that she liked to be held like this. He liked to hold her and be held by her, too. He knew that he wouldn't always need to protect her, but he would if he needed to. He just couldn't stand the thought of seeing her like that again. He now knew what his hollow had meant in his dream. If he lost Hiyori, he would lose everything. His happiness, his emotion, his love. Therefore, he would already be a hollow; his inner devil would just make it official.

He would do anything just to please her. If that meant he had to become a fugitive of the Soul Society, then so be it; if needed, he would just go any beat the crap out of them again. He just hoped that it wouldn't come to that. It would be rather annoying. Plus, he knew that if he beat Aizen, they would have no choice but to back off, right?

Just then, Rukia's soul phone buzzes. She excuses herself and answers it. When she hangs up, she tells Ichigo that the head captain wants to speak with them at Orihime's apartment.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: By an unexpected turn of events, a new chapter is born! However, this is definitely the last one for an unknown amount of time. Thank you for the two new reviews! When I read them, I started jumping around like a teenage girl at a Justin Beiber concert! Seriously, guys. I nearly cried from happiness. Thank you. But, reviews are still and always will be accepted! Just, please make sure that you are nice about any criticism you feel the need to give. Okay, I think that I did a good job on this chapter. I made sure to do my research for the parts that I needed to do so, and I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!**

**Disclaimer: As you are about to see, I am not the creator of Bleach. Tite, you're awesome.**

"My right hand is the stone that bridges worlds."

Ichigo Kurosaki was NOT happy.

"My left hand is the blade that binds reality."

Aizen was NO LONGER allowed to live.

"The black-haired shepherd is hung from a chair.

The head captain and Central 46 could die at this moment, and he would rejoice in the fact that the Soul Society would no longer have such shitty leaders.

"Stratus clouds come,"

He, Chad, and Uryuu were about to do the impossible. Again.

"I strike down the ibis."

The space between the two vertical wooden pillars opened into the darkness of the Garganta.

…**..**

"Hey Shinji! Where's Ichigo?" Hiyori asks the blonde haired man.

"How should I know? He's a big boy; he can take care of himself."

"He asked to speak to you in private before he left, dumbass."

"Yeah? And? What makes you think he told me anything that he wouldn't tell you?"

"Because it's probably something stupid! I bet it has to do with that stupid "princess" girl to!"

"What, Orihime? Why do you think that?"

"Well, let's see. One: he went to her apartment. Two: she hasn't been seen since those arrancar invaded. Three: he is her friend. Need I remind you how stupid he acted to save that soul reaper girl?"

"Alright, you have a point. But I promised Ichigo I wouldn't say anything. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you where he is."

"You dumbass! You better tell me where that orange haired bastard is right now!"

"Hiyori, please, I'm trying to heal Shinji and I can't do that if you're sending him through walls and causing him more harm," Hachi appeals. Since Orihime was gone, Hachi had decided to try and heal Shinji himself, and at the rate the healing is going, it should be done before the end of the day.

Hiyori, putting her sandal back on, pouts and says, "Then I'm gonna go ask Urahara," before Flash Stepping out of the compound. She starts walking down the sidewalk to the "humble candy shop" so that she can ask what the hell is going on. However, as soon as she exits Hachi's barrier, she knows everything.

"That stupid dumbass, I'M GONNA KILL HIM!"

She can feel the Garganta at Urahara Shop. She assumes that Orihime has been taken by Aizen. Why, she does not know. Nor does she care. All she knows is that her dumbass is about to plunge into the depths of Hueco Mundo in order to save her. And that he didn't tell her about it.

…**.**

Uryuu and Chad have entered the Garganta and are waiting for Ichigo. As he jumps up to the hole in the sky, he feels a sudden and familiar burst of spiritual pressure. And it is very, VERY pissed.

Looking at his confused friends with fright, then at Urahara with pleading, he is let down to see that the shopkeeper has turned his hat down and is looking away from Ichigo, whistling. He gets down from the Garganta and says, "I'll be right back," to Chad and Uryuu, who still have no idea what in the hell is going on.

"Ichigo, what in the hell is going on?" the Quincy demands. Chad merely grunts; he knows that Ichigo knows this girl and she feels somewhat familiar somehow.

"Sorry Uryuu, no time to explain!" he yells after him as he enters the shop via trapdoor. As soon as he is in, however, he is met with an all too familiar yellow sandal. Chad, Uryuu and Urahara watch as Ichigo plunges into the ground beneath the ladder. They all cringe; that had to hurt, and the girl landing on his sternum probably didn't help, either.

"YOU DUMBASS!" _*SMACK*_ "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!?" _*SMACK*_ "I COULD HELP YOU!" _*SMACK*_ "ANSWER ME, GODDAMMIT!" _*SMACKSMACKSMACK*_

Ichigo tries to get up but is held down by Hiyori, who is still hitting him with the yellow weapon in her hand. Finally, he's had enough, and he picks up by the waist, stands up, and hugs her arms to her sides while locking his knees around her legs to keep her from moving.

"Hiyori, listen to me. I-"

"LET ME GO YOU DUMBASS! LET ME GO!"

"Hiyori, please, if you would-"

"I SAID LET ME GO!" she continues to scream at him. Finally deciding that he had to shut her up in order to talk to her, he rams his lips into hers. At first, Hiyori struggles to resist, but then eventually gives in to the tempting and pushing lips of Ichigo. After a moment of silence, Ichigo pulls his head back, much to Hiyori's disappointment.

"I'm going to set you down know. Are you going to try and hit me again?"

She slightly shakes her head to the negative and is released. "What the hell do you think you're doing, dumbass?"

"Well, you see, Orihime's been taken by Aizen, and I'm-"

"I know all of that. What I want to know is: why the hell didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't tell you because I knew you would want to go with me, and I can't let you do that."

"Why the hell not!? I'm not a little girl, ya know! I can take care of myself! And you even told Shinji! What the hell!?"

"I told him because I thought someone should know. And I know that you are perfectly capable oh handling yourself, but I just can't take the risk losing you. There are arrancar there even more powerful than some captains. Plus, there is no telling how powerful Aizen, Ichimaru, and Tousen have become, considering the chance of hollowfication. For all we know, I may not even be able to beat him. And I have no intention of trying to just yet. I'm just gonna go in, grab Orihime, and be right back." Lies. He wants to and will kill Aizen. But Hiyori doesn't need to know that.

"And what if he catches you? What then, dumbass!?"

"I will cross that bridge when it comes. But I need to do this, and you need to stay here and take care of Shinji and the others. If not for you, they'd never get anything done. Please, do this for me."

Hiyori looks into Ichigo's deep brown pools with her own. As they share the contact, she sees the determination. She knows that there is no changing his mind now. She looks away and says, "Whatever."

Ichigo gets up and walks to the Garganta again and looks at his waiting friends. With a nod, he looks over his shoulder and back at the girl of his dreams. "Goodbye, Hiyori. See you soon."

Before he can jump through the Garganta, she throws herself on him and hugs him tightly, burying the side of her face in his chest. "Just come back, dumbass," she mutters into his black soul reaper robes. He wraps his arms around her and replies, "of course, snaggletooth." She let's go of him and they separate, looking each other in the eye once more. After a moment of silent agreement, he jumps through the Garganta and it closes behind him, swallowing him and the other two in darkness.

…**..**

As Hiyori eats dinner, she is sitting on the cliff face that holds so many memories. Sure, only about a months worth, but still enough to keep her mind busy from worrying about him. As she contemplates, she doesn't notice Shinji sit down beside her. his legs have been fully healed, thanks to Hachi's Kido expertise, along with his ability to seemingly negate past events.

"You miss him, don't you?" he says, to which Hiyori jumps, but doesn't complain. Instead, she just nods and keeps staring out into the distance. "We miss him too. We're all worried about him, ya know. But I know he'll be fine. You just gotta have a little faith in him is all. He'll be back in no time."

This time, Hiyori responds. "Thanks, Shinji. I know he'll be ok. I just can't help it. He's such a dumbass; he's probably going to hurt himself."

"There is not a doubt in my mind that he will. But I think that Aizen's gonna be hurting a hell of a lot more. Plus, he'll have Orihime there to heal him. He'll be fine."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

…

In Hueco Mundo, Ichigo has awakened to see a newly healed Grimmjow Jaegerjacques. As he stares at him from his grounded position, he can't help but notice that he isn't looking like his usual cocky and arrogant self. Instead, he looks worried, as if he could be smited at any moment. Orihime is healing him, and Grimmjow seems to be fine with it. In fact, he seems to be waiting for her to finish up.

"Orihime, what the hell is going on?" he asks, gaining the attention of Grimmjow and making the Rikka wielder jump.

"So, you're finally awake, you lazy bum! Now fight me!"

"What? Why? I'm kind of getting healed here, ya know."

"And why do you think that is, you orange haired piece of soul reaper filth? I'm the one who brought her here, dumbass!"

Something about anybody but Hiyori calling him dumbass just sounds so wrong all of a sudden. He shrugs and says, "I'm guessing that you want to fight me, is that it? Well, I guess I have no choice in the matter then."

"No, you mustn't Ichigo! You could die!" Orihime speaks up, not wanting her friend to give his life for hers.

"Listen to me, Orihime. Just finish healing me, and I'll take care of him. Then, we'll go and get Chad, Uryuu, Rukia and Renji and get the hell outta here."

"And what makes you so sure, you jackass?" Grimmjow says in his normal mocking tone. Ichigo just looks at him and smiles slyly.

"You'll see soon enough," is his only response. This enrages Grimmjow to no end, and he decides that he will have to teach this soul reaper a lesson. As he waits for the girl to finish the healing process, thoughts of how to kill this pest flash through his mind.

"Okay, I'm done. He's healed. Listen to me, Ichigo. Please don't do this. You don't have to do this for me," she says with pleading eyes. Ichigo just smiles and gets up.

"Don't worry, Orihime. I'll be right back."

"Yeah, in a hundred pieces. Let's do this already!" Grimmjow says impatiently. Ichigo nods and Flash Steps to the ground below Grimmjow following in a Sonido. As they land, Ichigo attacks the Espada, his Bankai releasing wordlessly. Grimmjow blocks the slash easily, and proceeds to punch Ichigo in the gut, only for him to disappear and reappear behind him, making another cut at his neck. This, too, is blocked, and Grimmjow sends a backhand at Ichigo, who dashes away again.

Grimmjow has to admit, Ichigo has gained some speed since their first fight. He seems much more confident and he definitely has the will to kill this time. He has a feeling that it has something to do with that girl from yesterday. The substitute soul reaper seemed to snap when he saw her lying unconscious and on the ground, dying. He smiles inwardly; he knows this scum's weakness. And he intends to exploit in every way possible.

Ichigo kicks off after Grimmjow again, and swings at a downwards diagonal angle. At is blocked by the arrancar, and their swords lock, bringing them within five inches of each other's face. Let the mental torture begin.

"So tell me, soul reaper, how is that girl doing? Is she dead? Who was she, anyway?"

"Shut up! Don't you dare even talk about Hiyori, your dirty piece of trash!"

"Oh? I seem to have struck a nerve. Does that mean she died? A real shame, if she did. I barely used any effort at all. Oh well, I guess it can't be helped. After all," he leans in closer to Ichigo with a sadistic glint in his eye, "she was just a little soul reaper bitch."

At that, Ichigo is enraged. He had thought about killing Grimmjow with as little effort as possible, but now it is out of the question. As his black and red tinged spiritual pressure builds around him, he pushes Grimmjow off of him and pulls down his mask, and equips his recently acquired battle gear in the process. Grimmjow is reminded of his own Resurrecion, but before he can further study the changes of his opponent, he is attacked again, the black blade covered in an unfired Getsuga Tensho, adding to its effectiveness. He barely manages to evade the lethal blow, and he decides that he will have to go all out on this fight.

"Grind, Pantera!" Grimmjow announces, and his own skin tight, cat-like battle armor wraps itself around him. His ears extend and point, his eyebrow markings grow, as well as his canines and hair. Blades appear on his forearms and calves, claws forming on each finger and toe. He then lunges at Ichigo, who blocks by grabbing Grimmjow's left arm blade and shatters it in his hand. Grimmjow attacks again with a backwards kick to the gut, only to have that blade crushed too by a punch from Ichigo. Grimmjow backs off and looks at the damage to his own body before inspecting Ichigo's seemingly non-fazed armor. He curses under his breath before attacking once more, this time with a simple punch, which Ichigo dodges with incredible speed before creating a deep diagonal gash across the arrancar's abdomen.

Ichigo goes for the head once more, and meets air once more. Grimmjow has backed up considerably and is panting heavily, clutching his chest with a clawed hand to his chest, as if trying to close the wound. Ichigo then fires a Getsuga Tensho that is large enough to split all of Las Noches in half. Grimmjow realizes the impossibility of dodging or taking the hit head one. So, he attempts to cancel out the attack with his own special technique, Desgarron. As they blue streaks hit the black crescent moon, they seem to be absorbed, because they disappear and the Getsuga grows and gains a bluish tint. Grimmjow's eyes widen in surprise before he is hit with the hybrid attack. He is driven back into one of the many pillars in the sands of inner Las Noches, and the whole thing explodes, Grimmjow and all.

As the smoke clears, Ichigo jumps up to Orihime, and they both ask one question.

"Are you alright?" Orihime blushes and looks away, muttering a small "yes".

"That's good. I'm fine, Orihime, thank you for asking." He then picks her up and she yells out in surprise.

"I-Ichigo! Put me down! I-I'm heavy!"

"Nonsense, Orihime, you're actually a lot lighter than I expected."

_*WHAM*_

"ITSYGO! HOW DARE YOU TALK TO A LADY LIKE THAT!?"

As Ichigo crumples to the ground in pain, he clutches his crotch with both hands and enters the fetal position. "Nel… what the hell…?" he strains out in a pained voice.

"WHEN A LADY ASKS YOU ABOUT HER WEIGHT, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO TELL THEM THAT THEY ARE LIGHTER THAN ARE, EVEN IF THEY ARE REALLY HEAVY!"

"No, Nel… it's okay, really…" Orihime tries, but doesn't manage to get through to the little arrancar girl. Ichigo apologizes and, after a moment, manages to stand up and, again, pick Orihime up bridal style and Flash Step to the ground with Nel on his shoulder. When there, he explains to them that they are going to Rukia first, but is interrupted by a figure walking out of the still-swirling dust and sand.

A battered and bloody Grimmjow Jaegerjacques stands in front of them, and his armor shatters as he threatens Ichigo once more. He rushes with his newly resealed zanpakuto, and Ichigo prepares for the futile blow, but it never comes. Instead, the Sixth Espada's neck is caught by a weird looking double crescent moon-like weapon. As Grimmjow falls to the ground, the new arrival moves into view.

"You're pathetic, Grimmjow Jaegerjacques," the man says. He is tall and lanky, is looks too skinny to have been able to have thrown that huge weapon like he had. He is wearing the standard half buttoned arrancar uniform, with the exception of a large round collar reaching high above the back of his head, and curled, pointed shoes. The weapon in his hand was attached to his ankle via chain, and he had a large white eye patch covering most of the left side of his face. His black hair hung to his shoulders, and his mouth was in a frown similar to Shinji's. However, as soon as his eyes turned on Ichigo, it turned to a grin that made Kenpachi's look like an innocent little kid's.

Speaking of Kenpachi…

As soon as Grimmjow has turned to dust and the other arrancar has thrown his weapon at Ichigo, the mad man himself, Kenpachi Zaraki, captain of the Eleventh Division, has blocked it. With his lieutenant and adoptive daughter, Yachiru Kusajishi, on his back, similar to how Nel is on Ichigo's, he smiles down at Ichigo, noticing the boy's change in attire.

"Nice outfit ya got there, Ichigo. Trying on a new style?" he snickers, and Ichigo looks down to notice that he is once again wearing only the blood red, tattered lower garment of his hollowfication. He blushes and immediately wishes to be back in his armor again. And, surprisingly, it appears, even without Ichigo pulling on his mask.

With a low whistle, Kenpachi turns back to the now enraged Vasto Lorde class hollow. "That's a pretty neat trick, Ichigo. Now, let me have this fight. Go on and find your friends, I've got things here. And Ichigo, don't worry; they're all fine."

"What? How? What are you even doing here, Kenpachi? I thought the Soul Society wasn't going to get involved in Orihime's rescue."

Kenpachi then explains the situation regarding the relief squad consisting of himself, Captains Unohana, Kuchiki and Kurotsuchi, along with the lieutenant and 7th seat of squad 4, Isane Kotetsu and Hanatoru Yamada, lieutenant of Squad Twelve, Nemu Kurotsuchi, and his own lieutenant. He explains that the real Karakura Town has been replaced by a fake one by Urahara's handiwork, and that every remaining captain-class soul reaper was already there, waiting for Aizen.

The still unnamed opponent, now fully blinded by pure rage due to being ignored, attacks again while screaming, "DO NOT IGNORE ME, THE FIFTH ESPADA, NNOITRA GILGA!"

Kenpachi blocks again, and Ichigo attempts to pick Orihime up again, when he finds her taken hostage by a man with blonde hair and a zanpakuto with a large hole in the middle, distorting the blade. Not waiting for his name, Ichigo grabs him by the face and throws him into the nearest pillar, which falls on top if him, killing him instantly (don't ask why he dies so easily. He's just supposed to die). Then, Ichigo turns to make another attempt at grabbing the girl and leaving, only to find her being held by yet ANOTHER man, this one with brown locks and a lazy expression on his face, before they disappear in a Sonido.

"Goddammit," Ichigo sighs, and he turns to Kenpachi, who has already locked in battle with the Fifth Espada. He sighs again and takes off after the man who has taken Orihime.

…**.**

Upon reaching the fifth tower of Las Noches, Ichigo hears Aizen's voice like an intercom, pretty much saying that they are all trapped like mice and that he is going to the world of the living now, and that Orihime is in the (guess what) fifth tower of Las Noches, if anybody wants to know.

After feeling the disappearance of six captain-class beings and ten other at lieutenant levels, he assumes that Aizen, Tousen, Ichimaru, the top three Espadas, and their Fraccion have left. He zooms at the tower, only to be confronted by an army of arrancar with the exact same clothing and hornless bull skull mask, except for what seems to be their leader, who HAS horns. The leader then speaks to Ichigo, "I assume that you've come for Orihime Inoue. Am I correct in that assumption?"

"You're damned right, you are!" Ichigo yells back and takes a fighting stance, ready to take on the meager hundred plus foot soldiers.

"Then I'm afraid that we shall have to kill you," the leader speaks once again, and directs his troops to attack. However, they do not reach Ichigo, and instead are intercepted by a familiar, huge, snake-like Bankai.

"Renji?" Ichigo asks, and sees the red-haired lieutenant wielding the giant released zanpakuto. Then, one of the walls that are holding a large amount of troops is destroyed, an audible "El Directo" coming from the source of a light blue energy blast. He looks down to see Chad, and says his name for absolutely no reason as well. Suddenly, a group of soldiers are frozen, after the incantation "Tsugi no Mai: Hakuren!" is given. He turns once more to see Rukia, and before he can say her name in the same stupid tone, she yells at him.

"Get going, you idiot! We've got things taken care of here!"

Ichigo, snapping out of his dazed state, nods in approval and takes off once more to the top of the tower holding Orihime Inoue and Ulquiorra Cifer.

Breaking through the wall, he sees Ulquiorra reaching out to Orihime's head, or, more specifically, her brain. He quickly intercepts the hand, foregoing any long and drawn out speech he may have said in the past, and attack Ulquiorra in a sideways swipe. Ulquiorra blocks with his zanpakuto, which Ichigo assumes to mean that Ulquiorra considers him any equal, which is funny to him, because right now he feels like he should be treated as a superior.

He pushes against Ulquiorra, who jumps back and puts one hand in his pocket. Ichigo pulls his mask back on and instruct Orihime to back away, which she complies to immediately, still a little frightened of Ichigo's new transformation.

Then, Ichigo tries attacking Ulquiorra again, only to have a VERY stupid Yammy burst through the floor and take the attack head on, standing him through the wall of the tower, and down to the others, which now included Uryuu, who had finished their battle. Yammy, who is now thoroughly enraged that he was bested yet again by the little orange haired punk and that, seeing as he was Ulquiorra's opponent, he couldn't do anything about it, releases his zanpakuto and reveals that he is the most powerful Espada, the Zero Espada. The other four that are on the ground take him on, except for Uryuu, who Hirenkyakus up to Ichigo to take Orihime away.

Ulquiorra, seeing the destructive force of a single swipe of Ichigo's attack, decides that he needs to use his release as well. Not wanting to break the rules, he has Ichigo follow him through the ceiling of Las Noches, where he can fight to the limit of his power.

Seeing this, Orihime, the idiot that she is, demands that Uryuu takes her there, and Uryuu, the idiot that he is, complies.

Once there, they see a fully transformed Ulquiorra have the crap beaten out of him by a fully hollowfied Ichigo.

…**..**

In the World of the Living, things are not going so well. While all of the remaining Espada and they're Fraccion have been killed, along with Kaname Tousen, thanks to the arrival of the Vizards (and Aizen deciding that he didn't need two of them anymore), everyone was still getting they're asses handed to them. Captain Soi Fon's left arm was gone, as well as Hachi's right one, and Hiyori… well, let's just say that she was feeling a bit… _incomplete_at the moment. Everyone except foe the head captain had been battered and bruised, and Hachi was desperately trying to keep Hiyori alive. Every one of the Vizards hoped that Ichigo didn't see her in her current bifurcated state, otherwise Aizen would look like someone had accidently knocked over a lamp.

Speaking of which, Aizen is about to kill them all off.

That is, until a fully hollowfied and black Bankai wielding mass of orange hair and tiger-striped armor attacked him from behind with a Getsuga Tensho. However, the attack is consumed by the shield placed on the back of Aizen's neck, the owner of which nonchalantly turns around to face Ichigo.

When he catches a glimpse of him, though, his eyes widened in surprise. This is NOT what he expected to see. He had expected to see a simply Bankai-state Ichigo Kurosaki, afraid of using his hollow powers for fear of turning into a mindless beast again. However, this is not the case, as Ichigo had not turned into a mindless beast at all. Instead, he was in full hollowfication and in full control of it. This time, however, his lower body robe cloaks the rest of his body as well, left open at the chest except for one button, just like his Bankai garment (compliments of Captain Unohana and her reishi replacing Kido), only it is still blood red.

And Ichigo Kurosaki is not scared. He is pissed beyond belief.

Everyone of the soul reapers' eyes widened in surprise as well. All of the Vizards whistle lowly, except for Hiyori, for obvious reasons yet to be seen bye Ichigo, and Shinji, who had already seen this transformation when Ichigo had saved them from the blue haired Espada. Gin's eyes actually opens a little bit, revealing the reason the he kept them squinted, as his wine red eyes made him look even creepier than Captain Kurotsuchi. And Aizen… well, he is a little preoccupied at the moment.

Aizen, realizing that he had miscalculated something at one point, hurries and reveals his subjection of the Hogyoku, and enters the chrysalis stage of his hollowfication. He barely manages to block the raging Kurosaki boy's attacks, which surprised him even further.

"GIN! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" He yells at his only remaining subordinate, whose smile and closed eyes had returned.

"What? Me? I'm sorry, Captain Aizen, I didn't know you needed my help with him yet," Gin answers innocently. "How shall I be of assistance?"

"GIN, DON'T PLAY DUMBASS WITH ME! I KNOW YOU'RE NOT AN IDIOT!"

Something about the word "dumbass" triggers something in his mind. He stops his assault, to the surprise of everyone present, except for the Vizards, who simultaneously yells "OH SHI-". But that is all they get out, because at the moment, Ichigo sees the love of his life. Or, at least, the top half of her. He then spots the rest of her body, which is now being retrieved by Captain Unohana from the ruins that it is buried in.

Aizen had indeed made a fatal miscalculation. That miscalculation was love.

Ichigo then turns to the only suspects slowly. His head is pointed towards the ground, his eyes at the two former captains. His exponentially growing spiritual pressure causes everyone except for captains Unohana, Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Yamamoto, the Vizards, Aizen and Gin fall to the ground, choking for air. When Gin points his dagger-like sword at Ichigo and calls out a small, terrified "Bankai", Ichigo is faster than the fastest zanpakuto in all of existence, and catches the rapidly growing dust particles that make up Gin's Bankai before it solidifies into a real blade that are closest to the guard of said Bankai, and rips it away, effectively destroying the blade, before letting every particle fall to the ground.

Gin's eyes widen fully this time, just before Ichigo plunges a hand through his chest, pulling his spine along for the ride. Then, he swings him around by said series of bones, and throws him at Aizen harder and faster than Yammy ever could. Gin's bloody, lifeless corpse hits Aizen in the face, causing said individual's mask to break, revealing the oblivion that's inside. Oh, and he does back flips. Lots, and lots, and LOTS of back flips, before eventually hitting the ground. As he does, he lands within a five mile radius of Hiyori, and Ichigo immediately assumes that he is trying to harm her further.

As he lands, he does so on Aizen's abdomen, driving the air from his lungs and breaking, if not cracking, every one of his ribs. Aizen checks mentally, and he seem to have ruptured along or two. Luckily (or unluckily, if you look at the end result) for Aizen, the chrysalis stage ends, and the rest of the mask shatters, revealing his face and fixing all of his injuries.

Ichigo, however, sees this as only a chance to maul Aizen's soon-to-not-be-so pretty face. He straddles his chest, and pounds abandoning into Aizen's flesh, releasing large amounts of reishi with each blow. When his arms grow tired, he gets up, stands one his neck with one foot, and curb stomps the piece of flesh once known as Aizen's face. When he has taken out all of his anger, he turns to sorrow.

And fear.

He rushes to Hiyori's side, releasing his hollowfied state subconsciously on the way. On his knees, he bends over so that his face is over hers, looking, searching desperately for any signs of life. When he sees none, he lowers his face into her chest and lets out a long and pained wail. He is too worked up to notice the slight rise and fall of her chest, as he just takes at as his shaking from the sobs that he releases. Captain Unohana then tries comforting Ichigo by putting a hand on Ichigo's shoulder.

"Shh, it's okay Ichigo, everything will be fine."

That is when he looks up.

Retsu Unohana, captain of Squad Four, Head of the Medical Department, had never, in one day of her life, seen eyes like Ichigo's. Not just the discoloration; she had never seen mix of emotions behind them. Sure, she had seen someone's eyes after witnessing their loved one die. She had seen hurt, sorrow and grievance in their eyes. She had seen an apologetic look, for being too late to save them. She had even seen a hint of insanity, for they had no idea what they were going to do without the person by their side.

Ichigo's eyes had all of that. But the one thing that was strange, the one thing that Retsu Unohana had never expected to see, especially in the eyes of Ichigo Kurosaki, substitute soul reaper, Vizard, the ryoka of the Sereitei, the boy who had invaded Hueco Mundo without the slightest bit of hesitance, the boy who fearlessly took on and defeated the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, who had threatened to take the life of a friend that he had known for only two months, his own Inner Hollow, who threatened to take over his body, Jin Kariya, leader of the Bounts, Muramasa, leader of the Zanpakuto Rebellion, and Sosuke Aizen, who had betrayed the Soul Society, fooled every one of his allies, stole the Hogyoku in front of all to see, effortlessly defeated anybody and everybody who attacked him, ran off to be King of Hueco Mundo, planned to destroy Karakura Town, along with 100,000 souls to create the Oken, the King's Key, so that he may kill and become the Spirit King, Supreme Ruler of all, and almost succeeded in doing so, is the one emotion most prominent.

In the eyes of Ichigo Kurosaki is fear.

"OKAY!? YOU THINK THAT EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY!? HOW CAN YOU EVEN SAY THAT!? THE ONLY WOMAN A HAVE AND EVER WILL LOVE IS NOW DEAD, AND YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY!? NO, NOTHING IS OKAY! NOTHING EVER WILL BE OKAY AGAIN! DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY!? BECAUSE WITHOUT THIS WOMAN, THE WOMAN I LOVE, I'M AS MUCH A HOLLOW AS EVERYTHING IN HUECO MUNDO!"

And as if on que, Ichigo's hollow starts to take over. His body is once again covered in the tiger-like body suit, his robe was back to its halfway state of disrepair, and his half mask has already appeared. He starts thrashing around, frantically trying to rid himself of this beast, and failing miserably.

It is at this time that Aizen, somehow still alive and able to move, decides to use his Bankai.

"Bankai, Kyoka Suigetsu Giman no Masuta."

And just like that, Ichigo freezes, and falls unconscious to the ground, the half mask still growing.

…**..**

Ichigo awakens to find himself in a place that he has never seen before. It is a labyrinth, and its walls were constantly changing. He was in what seems to be the heart, as it is a rather large and empty room.

However, he does not care. He is too busy trying to fight off his hollow's invasion of the mind and body.

Aizen appears before him and starts talking to him, for some stupid reason expecting him to understand what he's saying. In reality, Ichigo barely even recognizes that the man is talking. When he stops, though, Ichigo feels a sharp pain on the back of his neck, sending him to his knees. As he turns around to see who it was he needed to kill next, and sees another Aizen, his sword bloodied. Then, he sees two more appear, then three, then five, then twenty. As each one aims they're zanpakuto at him, he understands that this is Aizen's Bankai. As it turns out, Aizen was explaining that earlier, and that everything in there was a "real illusion" that could actually kill him.

And as each Aizen thrusts sword at the hollowfying Ichigo, they are all flung backwards as the process is all but complete, leaving only one eye uncovered and giving Ichigo's inner demon full reign over his body. He then gets up from his kneeling position and starts to murder each of Aizen's clones. The real Aizen quickly disappears into one of them moving walls, which does not go unnoticed by Ichigo. The nearly hollowfied boy starts to break the walls of the strange place that he has been trapped in, in search of Aizen.

Aizen winces. He forgot to mention that this was his inner world. Any damage that happened here happened to his own sanity, which was his reason for not using this Bankai if possible. He realizes that he must stop the Kurosaki boy before he too goes insane. However, in his thinking, he forgets to track said boy, who grabs Aizen by the back of the neck and throws him into another wall, causing it to crumble as well. He gets up and is punched through three more walls before kicked in the back by Ichigo, who has Flash Stepped behind him. As Aizen feels his vertebrate shatter, he is picked up by the throat, and is able only to look the creature constricting his airways in the eyes.

All he sees in them is pure animal instinct and the desire to kill.

…

Everybody is thinking the exact same thing: _What the hell just happened?_

None of them had ever seen Aizen's Bankai before, and they were wary of getting anywhere near Ichigo's unconscious body. As they slowly and cautiously make their way to the site of this new event, Soi Fon moves to kill Aizen. She is stopped, however, by Shinji.

"Wait just a moment, Soi Fon. It would be best if the broke Ichigo's mask off first, trust me."

Soi Fon reluctantly nods and waits as Shinji makes his way to Ichigo. He puts the tip of his zanpakuto to the unfinished edge of Ichigo's mask and starts to break it away, and when it is completely gone, his armor dissipates with it. He then nods to Soi Fon, who goes in for the kill, until both Aizen and Ichigo jump up and out of their stupors.

"So, you figured that it was too dangerous to continue the fight in there, huh Aizen?" Ichigo says, now fully in control again, but incredibly weak in the knees. Aizen is not much better and uses his zanpakuto to keep himself upright.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, do not kid yourself. You shall still die here. Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu."

Ichigo knows what his trick is though (Courtesy of Unohana), and shuts his eyes tightly before the flash of bright light that is Aizen's Shikai release can blind him. As the light disappears, Ichigo opens his eyes and sees everyone fighting each other. He also notices that Aizen does not seem to realize that he failed to capture Ichigo in his Kyoka Suigetsu's flash, because he is slowly making his way towards him.

As Aizen raises his sword above Ichigo to strike down on him, Ichigo plunges Tensa Zangetsu's blade into Aizen's chest, straight through his heart.

And, unbeknownst to him, the Hogyoku.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Alright, I couldn't help myself. Here is a small chapter, the result of me not sleeping at all. You're welcome.**

**Disclaimer: it's pretty pointless at this point.**

_*BOOM*_

Alright, that was an understatement.

The blast radius was one spirit mile in diameter, and luckily for the World of the Living, happened right in the middle of the fake Karakura Town. And in that fake, now utterly destroyed town, was Ichigo Kurosaki. Everyone else had survived the blast, since it was one of pure spirit energy release spread so thin that the butter on the toast would be glad that it was thicker. However, Ichigo was feeling no damage. In fact, he felt no distress of anything at all.

That is, until he sees Hiyori again. She had finally been reattached before the explosion, and she had been caught by Captain Unohana, who had been caught be Hachi. He rushes to her again, this time realizing that she is still alive due to the pain visible on hair face. He feels relieved and sickened at the same time. He was glad that she was okay, but he had just caused an explosion that could've killed her!

Unohana places a hand on his shoulder once again. This time, she doesn't speak, feeling no need to do so. It was evident on the boy's face that he understood that the girl was still alive, even if barely just. Instead, she just allows him to fall into her embrace.

As he lets out sobs of relief instead of grief, Ichigo feels Unohana's hand rubbing his back soothingly. He hasn't felt anything like this since… He then realizes why he likes this captain so much. She is the embodiment of all that is motherly, even down to the guilt trips and scary smiles.

And that is something that he has needed for six long years.

As this goes on, Hachi continues to heal Hiyori with his remaining arm. When Unohana had asked about the other, he told her what had happened, and how he needed to await the arrival of Orihime Inoue.

Speaking of which…

Orihime was now running through the Garganta in a rather worried state. She, Uryuu, Chad, Renji and Rukia had volunteered to go through second, after all of their injuries were healed by the orange haired girl. Captain Kurotsuchi had no problems with this, and captains Zaraki and Kuchiki were too busy fighting to care.

As she runs, she can't help but think about Ichigo's transformation. It had been different than when he was training, and she liked it even less when she thought about what it meant; he was more suited for battle, the one thing he does better than everyone else, when he is at his scariest, which means that she could expect to see that side of him a lot.

She tells herself that she can't do anything about it, and wills herself to except it. She would have to in order to earn his affection, which she is determined to do. Little does she know, neither she nor anyone else has a snowball's chance in Hell.

As the group comes through the other end of the Garganta, they see the crater that they assume was once the fake Karakura Town. Searching desperately through the rubble, Chad, who has the easiest time viewing the layout due to his height, is the one who spots him. And the girl whom he is holding, as well as the one holding him.

"There," he says in his usual tone, not expressing his concern for his best friend. When they get over there they hear about the fight between Aizen and Ichigo, except for the part where Ichigo entered Aizen's Bankai, because Ichigo isn't in the mood to talk at the moment. He is content with just lazing in Unohana's motherly embrace.

Orihime immediately begins healing Hachi, and then Soi Fon, before helping Hachi with Hiyori. Soon, Hiyori stirs, and Ichigo pulls out of Unohana's warmth reluctantly. When Hiyori fully regains consciousness, she smiles at seeing Ichigo's smiling face looking down at her. He then hugs her, and two girls feel a pang of jealousy when he plants a long, deep kiss on her more-than-willing lips. One of them convinces herself that she cannot do anything about it, while the other convinces herself that it is purely out of relief.

Orihime, Hachi, and Unohana then heal everyone else's wounds, Unohana assessing the damage of the more serious cases of Rangiku, Momo, Ikkaku and Yumichika before telling Orihime what to fix.

After everyone has been fully healed, they all gather around. The head captain clears his throat to gain the Kurosaki boy's attention. "Ichigo Kurosaki, we have much to discuss. I shall like to speak with you in my office. Your town shall be returned to you, along with all of its citizens. Go home and spend time with your family. I shall see you in the next five hours."

And with that, the Senkaimon is opened, a hell butterfly for each soul reaper returning to the Soul Society. Rukia is the only one who stays behind, so that she may escort back through the gateway when it is time. As the door closes and dissipates, so does each of the remaining pillars. The Vizards say they're goodbyes and leave, except for Hiyori, who has decided that she wants to meet Ichigo's family. Even though Ichigo groans at the prospect, he agrees that it does need to happen. Chad, Orihime and Uryuu all go to their respective homes and apartments as well, leaving Ichigo to walk home with his girlfriend and his best friend.

As they walk through the busy streets as if nothing had even happened, they stop at Urahara Shop to pick up Ichigo's body and Rukia's gigai. Realizing that Hiyori's clothing is bloodied and barely managing to stay on, Ichigo insists on buying some clothes that Urahara inexplicably keeps in the back room.

As Hiyori is trying on different clothing, she thinks about what Ichigo might like. She doesn't want to look to girlish, for fear of sickening herself and others around her, but she doesn't feel that boy's clothes are appropriate attire when meeting your boyfriend's family. Knowing full well that Ichigo has a limited amount of time, she quickly decides on what she hopes will be appealing, yet appropriate.

…**.**

After only about ten minutes, Ichigo is surprised and relieved to hear the dressing room door open. As he turns to Hiyori, however, she seems like a totally different person.

She is wearing a simple white blouse with a bit of a ruffle on the shoulders. Her denim shorts reach halfway down her thigh, stopping at a reasonable distance while still showing her nicely developing legs. She is still wearing her yellow sandals, but they seem to have been cleaned. Her zanpakuto is still strewn across her back and her hair, which his been rinsed and combed through, is still in her usual ponytails and clips.

As she approaches, Rukia elbows Ichigo to make him pick his jaw up off of the floor. He snaps to attention and stands up, holding his hand out in a "give-it-here" gesture, to which she responds a questioning look. When he eyes he sword, she looks mortified, as if he had asked her to kill a puppy.

"No way, dumbass! Why should I!?" She exclaims.

"Because, I have two little sisters, one of which knows little to nothing about ghosts and soul reapers. I'd rather not have her and my idiotic old man think that I'm going out with a person that carries around a sword just for the hell of it."

"Fine. But I want it back as soon as we leave!"

Hiyori hands over Kubikiri Orochi, which Ichigo straps on under and across from Zangetsu. When he enters his body, both swords disappear and he stands up, brushing of the dust that had collected during his absence. He pays for Hiyori's clothes and they leave, heading towards home once more.

…

"IIIIIIIIIIICHIIIIIIIIIIIIIGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOO!"

Rukia and Hiyori, who had been warned of Isshin's antics, step to the side as Ichigo catches his father by the ankle and throws him back inside.

"Would you knock it off, old man!?" he yells at his father, who gets up and swings punch at Ichigo's face. The younger Kurosaki catches the blow easily, and returns with one of his own, which hits the older one in the gut, knocking the air from him.

"I'm so proud… my son…" Isshin strains out as he wheezes for breath. He then notices his beloved third daughter and whom he can only assume will be his fourth. "RUKIA! MY BELOVED THIRD DAUGHTER! AND WHO IS THIS? HAS MY SON BROUGHT ME A FOURTH DAUGHTER?" he yells as he wraps the two in a rib crushing hug. "Oh Masaki, if only you were here to see this!" he cries out, waterfalls coming from his eyelids.

"I said: 'Knock it off!'" Ichigo yells as he punches the back of Isshin's head, causing him to let go, allowing the two girls to breathe once more.

"Ichigo?" Yuzu's hopeful voice calls out as she pokes her head around the corner of the kitchen. "Ichigo! You're home! And you brought Rukia with you!" Yuzu the runs to her brother her sister-like figure and hugs them both. She then looks at Hiyori and back at Ichigo questioningly. "Who's this?" she asks politely. Yuzu was always so nice, even when she was trying to get information from you.

"Go get Karin and I'll introduce you. When will dinner be ready?" Ichigo asks his sister, who nods and replies "it's almost done!" before turning to get her twin from upstairs.

"C'mon old man, let's get inside," Ichigo says as he kicks his father's form on the ground. Once inside, Yuzu and Karin make their way down the stairs.

"I see you're home, Ichigo," Karin starts in her normal deadpan voice. "Where were you?"

"I had something important I needed to do for a friend. Now, I want you to meet my girlfriend. Karin, Yuzu, this is Hiyori. Hiyori, this is Karin and Yuzu, my twin sisters."

"And I'm Ichigo's loving and caring father!" Isshin says as he lunges for another hug, while Ichigo lunges for another punch. Ichigo wins.

"I-Ichigo has a g-girlfriend?" Yuzu asks disbelievingly, which earns a scowl from Ichigo. "Not that I didn't think you could do it, but still, it's just so… all of a sudden." She explains quickly.

"So, you're the girl he's going out with, huh?" Karin says to Hiyori, who simply nods. "Well, don't you dare break his heart, or I'll break your legs." She says in her 'slightly excited' voice.

Hiyori wants to laugh, but she knows that she shouldn't; she could take this girl and her meager spirit energy and she seems to know it, but she can understand where this girl is coming from. She would probably say the same thing to a girl or guy that any of the Vizards were serious about. As she looks the dark-haired girl in the eye, and they form a silent agreement and they both gain a certain level of respect for each other.

Hiyori is glad that they have already settled things between them, more or less. She can tell that she is going to like this girl very much. She just seems so much like herself and Ichigo. Now, the honey-blonde girl that is currently hugging her and the black haired man that is currently hugging the floor? That is a different story all together. Yet somehow, she doesn't see there being any problems extending past supreme amounts of embarrassment.

Now she is being ushered into the dining room by the sweeter of the twins, where she is seated, with Ichigo one her left, Rukia at her right, Yuzu across from her, Karin to Yuzu's right and Isshin at the head of the table on her left. Dinner looks extremely good, better than anything she has eaten back at the warehouse. Though Hachi is an exceptional cook, he hasn't been doing it all his life, as this girl seems to have done.

"So, Hiyori, tell us, how do you put up with my idiot son?" Isshin asks over a mouthful of food.

"Well, he's not that bad, really…" she attempts to answer politely, but Isshin calls her bluff.

"Nonsense! Knowing Ichigo, you probably first met when he kicked in the head or something! There's no need to be so formal around us! Don't worry, relax!"

At this, Ichigo and Rukia look at each other in horror for a second before looking back at their food, and Hiyori gets the feeling that she now knows how they met. _What an odd meeting. Well, maybe not as odd as ours._

"Well… I… um…" she mutters, and then looks at Ichigo, as if asking for permission. He shakes his head, which she assumes to mean that they don't know about him being a soul reaper.

"After all, it's not every day that you have a Vizard in your house!"

Ichigo, Rukia and Hiyori choke on their food. Yuzu looks at her dad questioningly and Karin does so knowingly. "How do you know about those, old man?" Ichigo says after recovering.

"How do I know? Well, I'm only friends with the guy who gave them gigais!" Isshin announces proudly, pointing at his chest with his thumb.

"Y-you know Mr. Urahara?" Rukia asks disbelievingly. What had happened in the past day that she was gone?

"Well of course I know Kisuke! Who do you think helped be in escaping the Soul Society?" Isshin says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"What the hell are you talking about, old man!?"

"Yeah, dad, what ARE you talking about?" Karin speaks up, now confused by her father's words.

"Well, I'm a soul reaper, of course! How do you think Ichigo became one?" Isshin then says. He had meant to do this during the battle with Aizen, but as it turned out, Ichigo had attained a whole new level of badass that no one knew was possible, so he didn't get the chance to show up in his patented soul reaper ex-captain's uniform.

"Wait… I… you're… but…" Rukia was lost at this point. In all her time of knowing Isshin Kurosaki, he never, not once, gave off any indication of being a soul reaper.

Looking around the table at all of the confused face staring at him, he sighs. "I guess I'll have to show you." He then pulls out a Gikongai pill and pops it in his mouth, separating his soul from his body.

His body remains silent and continues eating. Everybody else does like wise, except the eating part doesn't happen. Instead, Isshin just stands there, proudly puffing out his chest, Hiyori is completely lost as to what to say or do, Yuzu and Rukia faint, and Ichigo and Karin are staring at their father as though they might join the people on the floor.

Ichigo's face quickly turns to one of anger, however. "Why the hell did you keep this from us, old man!?" he yells at his father.

"That's kind of obvious, isn't it? I didn't want you two to have to go through the Soul Society until long after I've passed. But, now, that doesn't seem to be an option. Ichigo, I'm sorry I kept this from you. Karin, I'm guessing that you understands what this means. I'm just glad that Yuzu won't have to do what you will shortly."

"What are you talking about, goat face?" Karin says. "What am I going to do?"

"Why, become a soul reaper, of course!"

"What the hell, old man! You can't just turn people into soul reapers!"

"Why not? You and Rukia did."

Ichigo goes pale, then red. His father, knew everything, and yet said nothing at all?

Rukia, who has risen out of her stupor, is now looking rather guilty. She still sees what she did as wrong, even if Ichigo claims it was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Karin and Hiyori look at the two questioningly, and see their answer in Rukia's face. They then turn back to the man whose robe has been grabbed in the front by Ichigo, who looks extremely pissed. And Hiyori knows what happens when he gets extremely pissed.

"Ichigo, calm down! Do you want your hollow to take over? Now sit down before you do something stupid, dumbass!" she says as she tries to pull Ichigo off of his father.

"Why should I? It's not like he can take over while I'm in my body," he retorts.

"Dumbass, I'm in one too, and it still happened to me and everyone else!"

"But you have _gigais_ made by _Urahara_. They are not the same as a body!"

"Yeah they are, dumbass! He made them to be exactly like normal human bodies, with a slower rate of aging! Now sit down before I make you!"

"Fine," he says exasperatedly. He releases his father and sits down, still glaring at the old man.

Isshin then explains that he was once a soul reaper, and the he was one of the original captains as well. He explained how Urahara and Yoruichi had helped him escape when he fell in love with Ichigo's mother.

"Now, there's one more thing I need to tell you, son. This is very important, and you need to pay attention. Are you listening?"

"Yeah, old man. Hurry up and say at already!"

"Rukia, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask that you leave the room for now. I promise you that you shall know soon enough, but I am not at privilege to reveal to you are anybody else of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads this information. Please understand."

"Yes, Mr. Kurosaki. I understand." Rukia says and leaves the room, confused about what could possibly so top secret that no one of the squads could know about.

"Karin, please take your sister up to your room and remain there. Hiyori, you may stay if you choose to do so."

"Whatever, dad," Karin says as she shoulders the still unconscious Yuzu. "Ichigo, I want a full explanation later."

"Yeah, sure."

"I think I'll stay," Hiyori says, honored that she is the only one allowed to stay.

"Very well. Ichigo, there is a reason that you and I are so powerful. Hell, we even have the same Getsuga Tensho attack. That is because it is an attack that is passed down in the generations to the sole heir. The heir of the Spirit Throne, that is."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Ok, I apologize. That last chapter was a rush job, and it will never happen again. That being said, I'm laying down a lot in this chapter. BIG cliff hanger too. Sorry, but I couldn't help myself! Please review! Also, there may be confusion as to when Hiyori was injured. In the anime, she was only stabbed, but in the manga she was cut in half. So there.**

**Disclaimer: I don't think that even Bleach is this serious.**

Shock and Awe.

_What the hell is going on? Not only is the Old Man a soul reaper, I'm a prince? This is… WHAT THE HELL!?_

Shock.

_Did I just hear that right? I'm going out with the next Soul King? Wait, that means that… WHAT THE HELL!?_

Awe.

Shock for an orange headed substitute soul reaper and prince of the Soul Throne, awe for the blonde haired Vizard going out with him.

Two different emotions, combined in one simple yet incredibly complex question.

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

Grinning widely, Isshin just nods at the two before him. He then looks directly into his son's eyes for all of two seconds. _Here it comes._And sure enough, once Ichigo's motor skills were regained, Isshin's collar was once again in his son's grip.

"What the hell, Old Man!?" the younger Kurosaki shouted, tightening his grip. "What is this crap you're spewing!?"

"Royal Crap, that's what," Isshin responded in an all too serious and uncharacteristic tone. "You are the prince of the Soul Throne, next Soul King of all dimensions."

"And what the hell does that make you!? 'Cause you sure as hell don't look like a king to me!"

"Well, _technically_, I am king. However, I'm not leading the Soul Society right now."

"Then who the hell is!? Who was Aizen trying to kill!?"

A dark look comes over the boy's father's features at that. Looking Ichigo in the eyes, he says quietly, "the Queen."

The room falls silent. Ichigo's hand falls back, as well as the rest of his body. Hiyori, understanding what that must mean, but not why it was so touchy, decides to put her arms around him anyway. He doesn't respond, and just sits there, dumb struck, wishing that he had kept Aizen as a personal punching bag. While Aizen may not have done it knowingly, he had threatened to kill Ichigo's mother.

Which brings him to his current train of thought. _Wait, that means that mom is…_

Isshin nods, seeing the questioning hope in his son's eyes. It fills him with joy to see that he is focusing on the bright side. _Well, time to rip that away, too._ He thinks grimly.

"However, in order to become Spirit King, you have to fill certain requirements."

"And what the hell makes you think that I want to become King, huh? Why should I do anything for the Soul Society, after what they've done to Hiyori and the others? Plus, they tried to have not only Rukia, but me killed as well! And they haven't even apologized! Whyshould I do _anything_ for them?" Ichigo replies angrily. They hadn't event thanked him for what he HAD done.

"Well, for one thing, they would HAVE to apologize to you, as well Hiyori and the others. That would mean that they would get to go back to the Soul Society if they wanted to, though I doubt they would. But they would no longer be fugitives, and would be protected by the King himself. Plus, you would be taking a great deal of work off of your mother's shoulders. I can't right now, because I'm raising Yuzu and Karin. Otherwise, we would already be in the Royal Dimension by now."

Ichigo turns to Hiyori to look at her questioningly. 'What do you think?'

She looks back, contemplative. 'It IS a good offer.'

He scowls lightly. 'Yeah, but are you comfortable with having them as a daily part of our lives?'

She bites her lip. 'That's a good point.' Then she looks back at him contently. 'But I think it's worth it.'

He sighs. "Fine. What do I have to do?"

"Well, there are three requirements to becoming the Soul King. First, you must be dead. You gotta lose the body, son."

"Fine, that's easy. What's next?" Ichigo asks, dreading the answer.

"Well, that's the hard part. You have to get the Soul Society to recognize you as their leader. It will come down to a majority vote, and all of the captains must be agreeable."

_Well, shit._How is he gonna do that? "So, what then?"

"Well, that should actually be pretty easy, considering you power. You just have to beat any challenges that come your way as King in order to declare your law as absolute."

"So, I die, get people to like me, and fight off those who still hate me?" _Sounds fair enough._

"Pretty much. After that, you will go to the royal dimension and relieve your mother of her duties. Then you and whoever you may choose as Queen," he looks at Hiyori suggestively, "will live comfortably and luxuriously, with minimal disturbances."

"Well, I think that sounds fair. But how in hell am I supposed to get a majority vote, along with ALL of the captains on my side?"

Isshin shrugs. "I guess you got a lot of ass kissing to do. Favors tend to do the trick too. I know there will be some that won't give you any trouble, but as for Byaku-brat and Old Man Yama, you'll have to think of something on your own."

"Fine. But why does Karin have to become a soul reaper?"

"Because, her powers have been awakened, and if she doesn't become one, and you aren't around to protect her, then she might die.

"Fine. Whatever." Ichigo says, understanding his father's logic for once.

…**..**

Back at the compound, Shinji is looking at Ichigo with a knowing smile.

"It's about time he told you. Well, I'm behind you all the way Ichigo. I'm sure everyone would appreciate you clearing our names for us."

"Wait, you knew about this!? Why didn't you tell me!?"

" It wasn't my place to tell. I'm sorry Ichigo, but the point is that you that now you know, and that we are willing to help you no matter what. We all family, here."

"Thanks, Shinji. I guess I owe you one. Anyway, I gotta go. Rukia is taking me back to the Soul Society to speak with the Old Man about Aizen's defeat."

"Well, I wish you luck. I'll keep an eye on Hiyori for you."

_*SMACK*_

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, dumbass!? I'm going with him!"

"It MEANS that you were recently two separate beings, and even with Orihime's abilities, you might still have some problems."

"Listen to him, Hiyori. I almost lost you today. Just stay here while I go and handle them. I'll be back in no time." He winks and smirks, looking as cocky and arrogant as ever.

"No way, dumbass! I'm not letting you just walk in there alone! It could be a trap to get to us!" Hiyori protested. In all reality, she just didn't want to be alone again.

"I'm sorry, Hiyori. I'll just tell him what happened and then I'll already be back. Ok?"

"No! Not ok! I'm going with you and that's final, dumbass!"

"Hiyori." Ichigo places his hands on the small girl's shoulders. "Listen to me. I'm not going anywhere for long. I'm not leaving you. I just need to take care of some things. Then, we will go and get votes together. Ok?"

Hiyori looks up into Ichigo's eyes and notes the seriousness and resolve in them. It has become almost creepy how they can express their feelings to each other with mere looks, and if that doesn't work, then taunting always does.

"Whatever, dumbass," Hiyori mumbles, looking away from her boyfriend. Then, she looks back up at him and pulls him into a deep kiss, working her tongue onto his. "Just a little incentive," she whispers into his ear. He shivers in pleasure at the feeling of her breath in his ear.

"Can't wait," he whispers back. They look at each other with desire, and suddenly, he doesn't want to leave anymore.

"Ichigo, are you ready yet? It's time to go." Rukia walks up to him and lays a hand on his shoulder. She looks at Hiyori and smiles. "Don't worry, he'll be back without a scratch."

"See ya, Hiyori, Shinji," he says as he gets up.

"You'd better, dumbass."

And with that, Rukia opens the Senkaimon, and the two are on their way.

…

As someone knocks on the door, Yamamoto permits their entrance. Ichigo, escorted by Rukia, steps inside.

"You may go, Miss Kuchiki."

"Yes, Head Captain Yamamoto."

"Ichigo Kurosaki, you have been called here to discuss the events in the battle of the Soul Society vs. Sosuke Aizen."

"I know why I'm here, can we just get this over with? I've got someone to get back to ya know."

"Very well. I will be straight to the point then. Do you know what happened to Aizen after the blast?"

Ichigo pauses. Actually, he hadn't seen him after the explosion. And he didn't really care at the time, either. "No, I just kind of thought he'd been blown sky high. Is that all?"

"Unfortunately, no. We too have made the same assumption that you have, but we have also yet to recover the Hogyoku, which was inside of his being at the time."

Ichigo pauses again. That, he did care about. If somebody else had gotten a hold of that thing, it could be bad.

"We do have a theory as to its whereabouts. Ichigo Kurosaki, we must ask that you search your Inner World."

"What? Do you think that I might've absorbed it somehow?"

"Tell me, where exactly did you strike Aizen down? Was it through the center of his chest?"

Thinking back, Ichigo remembers that it was, indeed, in the center of the chest, and that there was, in fact, a very familiar purple stone that was in the way of Tensa Zangetsu.

"You know, I think you may be on to something," Ichigo says half to Yamamoto, half to absolutely no one. Sitting down against the wall, he closes his eyes, and plunges into the depths of his subconscious.

…**.**

"Zangetsu? Where are you?"

"Hello, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ichigo pales. Then he reddens. He knows that voice, and the traitorous owner of said voice. He turns to see the man who had come so close to killing his mother, standing on the sideways building with Ichigo.

"AIZEN, YOU BASTARD!" he yells as he charges at Aizen, who side steps easily and places a hand between the boy's shoulder blades, launching him through the air and into another skyscraper.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH ZANGETSU!?" Ichigo yells and he takes off once again. Aizen just catches his fist nonchalantly and looks him in the eye.

"He was gone when I came here. There was no one around. However, I did find this," he says as he opens his other hand, revealing a marble shaped object of purple oblivion. "It is actually quite interesting. Even though you stabbed it and me, it seemed to trigger a self-defense mechanism, causing it to travel backwards through your zanpakuto as pure spirit energy. Since it was part of me at the time, I came with it. Although, I have lost control of it, since this is YOUR Inner World. However, all I must do is kill you, and I will be free."

"And you think that it'll be that easy, do you?" Ichigo retorts, sending a kick at his opponent, who blocks easily.

"Since you cannot use your zanpakuto or your hollow powers here, yes, I do believe it will be _that_ easy," Aizen replies calmly as he throws Ichigo backwards once again.

"Dammit," Ichigo hisses, realizing that he will need both the Old Man and his other half to defeat this guy. As if on que, a pole appear out of nowhere with Zangetsu on it, and Ichigo's inner hollow climbs out of one of the windows in the skyscraper. The latter is half dressed.

"God Dammit, put some pants on!" Ichigo yells at the white being, who merely snickers and turns towards Aizen, revealing a moon that the real one would be jealous of its whiteness.

"**So, we've got some company, huh? Well, guess I may as well find some pants…"** he says as he jumps back through the window, only to jump up again, fully clothed and pointing the fake Zangetsu at the intruder.

"Well, this is unexpected," Aizen mumbles, eyeing the trio nervously.

"**_Ichigo, what shall we do?"_** Zangetsu asks his master.

"Well, I kinda need you right now, so could you get into sword form for me?"

"**_Of course, Ichigo,"_** replies the zanpakuto, who dissolves into a blade in Ichigo's hand.

"Thanks, Old Man. Bankai!" Ichigo calls out, and brandishes Tensa Zangetsu towards a fully surprised Aizen. "Hey, you too!" Ichigo yells at his hollow in annoyance.

"**Do I have too?"** It whines.**"C'mon** **King, you always hog all the fun!"**

"I said now!"

"**Alright, alright, I get it!"** the replies surprisingly, and the only reason Ichigo can figure why is because of the Hogyoku in Aizen's hand, which has started to glow.

"What is this?" Aizen mumbles again, looking down at the object in his hand interestedly. "It seems that you are able to use the Hogyoku to control your Inner Hollows. As you might say: Well, shit."

And Ichigo proceeds to do unspeakable things to Aizen. Most of which (for some reason) include the spine. After he has taken out a great deal of his frustration, he grabs Aizen and returns to the land of the conscious with the crumpled form.

…

"Found him!" Ichigo yells in a mockingly enthusiastic tone, dropping the materialized Aizen on the floor in front of Yamamoto's desk.

"And what of the Hogyoku?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure I can't take that out…"

"Very well. I suppose that it shall remain as it is, as it does not seem to be causing any problems. However, if there are any incidents, we shall remove it from you."

"Whatever. Anyway, are we done here?"

"No, we have one more matter to discuss: your Kingship."

"Dammit! Am I the only one who didn't know!?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki, in order to receive my vote, you must simply gain all of the other captain's votes. You have done enough for the Soul Society to deserve that much."

Ichigo just stands there. After about five minutes, he picks his jaw up off of the floor.

"Wait, so you're saying that I'll get you vote, easy as that?"

"Yes, that is what I am saying. No, you are dismissed!"

As Ichigo leaves the Head Captain's office, Rukia picks up a pace beside him. "How did it go?"

"Well, I've already got one vote."

Rukia's jaw threatens to drop, but she manages to hold onto it. "That's wonderful!"

"Yeah, I guess. Just twelve more to go. Hey, do you think that you could talk to your brother for me?"

"I'm sorry Ichigo, but this is something your dad said you have to do bye yourself."

Ichigo groans. "I know. Oh well, time to go home. I've got a girlfriend to tend to." Suddenly, Ichigo feels as gravity has been lifted as he thinks about the 'incentive' he received earlier. He picks up the pace towards the Senkaimon, leaving Rukia behind in her slower Flash Steps.

"Ichigo, hold on!"

…**.**

The gate opens, and Ichigo steps out.

_*SMACK*_

"What took you so long, dumbass!" Hiyori isn't in the best of moods.

"What are you talking about!? I wasn't even gone for 20 minutes!" And now, neither is Ichigo.

"Whatever, dumbass! Just get inside! Dinner's done!"

"Alright, alright! I'm going! See ya, Rukia!" Ichigo yells as he is ushered into the warehouse.

"Jeez, those two already fight like a married couple," Rukia mumbles beneath her breath, chuckling lightly.

Back inside, Ichigo has gotten his (previously frozen) dinner and has sat down next to Hiyori. As they eat they're food, which consists of a chicken TV dinner and a glass of tea with a lemon wedge, they inch closer together, until she is leaning against his side, with him against the wall.

After dinner, they head towards their favorite cliff face. As they sit there in each other's embrace, one of them speaks up. "So, what happened over there?"

"Eh? Not much, just Old Man Yama wondering what happened to the Hogyoku. Turns out, it's inside me."

She turns in his grasp to look at him, wide eyed. "What!? What the hell is that supposed to mean!?"

"I dunno. Not that big a deal, is it?"

"Oh, no, it just means that that creep Kurotsuchi is gonna try and experiment on you!"

"So? You don't think that I can take him on?"

"Awake, you could beat him six ways from Sunday. But asleep? He'll have you tied up and tested on until you're nothing but goo!"

"Meh, I'll just break out."

"Really, in cuffs made from Sekkiseki? Plus, he'll use Ashisogi Jizo on you!"

"Oh. Well, can't do anything about that now. We'll just have to deal with that later."

"Dumbass," she says grumpily, turning back around to look away from him.

"Hey, listen, there's nothing that we can do. We'll just have to watch out for him, ok?" he says as he tightens his grip on her midsection. She twists her head around to look at him once more and their eyes lock, hers with concern, his with understanding. They stay like this for a few moments, just staring into each other's gaze, until they bridge the small gap of their lips.

…**..**

Ichigo opens his eyes, but instead of waking up naked in the vast underground expanse of barren wasteland beside the love of his life, he sits up, fully clothed, on the side of a skyscraper, to a certain white figure. Just one thing doesn't fit though: the beast is on one knee, his head bent to the ground. With absolutely no restrains holding him there. Nothing at all. Of his own free will, the monster that has tried taking over his body own _numerous_occasions, is bowing.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ichigo asks in an annoyed tone, eyeing the creature cautiously.

"**_He's been like this since you… demonstrated… on Aizen. I think he's acknowledging you as king."_**__Zangetsu explains, to which Ichigo nods and looks down at his hollow once more, this time triumphantly.

"**King… I think I'm in love!"**the hollow says, eyes tearing up mockingly.

Ichigo's expression turns back to cautious very quickly. "Zangetsu, what the hell is he talking about?"

**_While you and Miss Sarugaki were… bonding… her inner world merged with your own. Her hollow appeared, and the two started to… copulate…"_**__Zangetsu trails off, not wanting to recount the details.

"**Oh please, her zanpakuto was here too!"** the hollow shoots back at the zanpakuto.

"**_Yes, but we didn't participate in such… animalistic coitus…"_**

"So, you're taking things slowly, huh? Good for you, Old Man. Now, what am I doing here?"

"**_I believe that he has something to say to you."_**__Said 'he' then looks back down, still bowing.

"**Listen… King… I… I accept you as King."**

"And by that, you mean the Hogyoku makes you accept me as king." Ichigo states it rather than asking it.

"**Bingo."**

"Well, if that's all, I'm leaving. See ya, Old Man."

"**_Goodbye, Ichigo."_**

…**.**

Ichigo wakes up to the scent of love and sweat, combined with Hiyori's natural musk. As he breathes in, his mind trails back to the previous nights events. The girl in his arms then stirs, turning around to look at him.

"Good morning, dumbass," she says as she yawns, snuggling into his chest.

"Good morning, snaggletooth," he replies, wrapping his arms around her tighter. Then, his senses come back to him. And there are two spiritual pressures advancing towards them.

Apparently, she notices them too, because she looks up at him wide eyed before they spring up and use Flash Step to pull their clothes back on. As soon as Hiyori finishes, (Ichigo having been done do to his superior speed) the two spiritual pressures appear before them in the forms of Shinji Hirako and Kisuke Urahara. Both of which are smiling devilishly at them.

"You guys have fun?" Kisuke says, snickering.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo asks indignantly. _How in the HELL does he know?_

Shinji then points to the two zanpakuto on the ground, both unsheathed somehow, both with their blades crossed.

When the couple notices this, they stare at them questioningly. "When two zanpakuto are crossed like that, it means that their owners performed the art of lov-URK" Urahara doesn't get the chance to finish his explanation, with Ichigo's fist retracting from his face.

Shinji snickers and smiles even more. "So, you finally did it, huh? Well, good for you. Ichigo, we need to discuss something with you."

"What is it?"

"Well, when you absorbed the Hogyoku, we believe that you may have gained full control of your hollow!" Urahara pops back up from his position on the ground, pointing his finger in the air like he just had the most brilliant thought ever.

"Yeah, I know. He already 'pledged his allegiance' to me or whatever. It was kinda creepy."

"I see. Well, what about you, Hiyori?"

"What about me?" she looked back at Urahara questioningly.

"Well, since you two made love, it is only to be expected that you released together?"

"What the hell does that have to do with anything!?" Ichigo growled out.

"Well, if you did, then there is a slight chance that you transferred some power to her, allowing her full control of her hollow as well."

"Well, come to think of it… she _has_ stopped pushing at her boundaries…"

"Wait, so that means that I gave her control?" Ichigo asked, trying to get everything straightened out in his head.

"Essentially, yes. You two are now embedded with the power of the Hogyoku, as will your children, and they're children, so on, so forth."

"Well, that sounds good, I guess. Anyway, is that it?" Ichigo asks, desperate to rid himself of the situation.

"Well, we actually came to talk to you about the disposal of your body."

"Oh. I was kinda hoping I'd get to stick around for a little while."

"Well, we'll give you until the end of the day. Then, we'll go to the Soul Society to secure your position in the Squads, until your Kingship can be fulfilled."

"Okay, thanks. I appreciate it."

…**..**

"Ichigo! What do you mean you're leaving!" Yuzu said, looking up at her brother, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Yuzu, I'm sorry. The Soul Society says that I have to in order to fulfill my duties. Don't worry, we'll visit plenty," Ichigo said, smiling sadly down to his sister. He knows that another death, even if faked will be hard on the twins.

"You better, otherwise I'll kick your ass!" Karin says, barely managing to hold back the tears. She won't cry. Not here. Not in front of her family.

"I'm sure you will, Karin. Listen, I want you to take good care of Yuzu when I'm gone, and make sure that the Old Man doesn't step outta line, ya hear?"

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you."

"Thanks. Take good care of yourself." He ruffles up Karin's hair, much to her annoyance.

"Old Man, take care of them."

"Don't worry son, of course I will." This was one of Isshin's rare moments of non-flamboyance.

"Good. Well, I've got to go now. Goodbye, everybody. See ya later."

Yuzu runs up to Ichigo and grabs him around the waist, hugging him tightly. "Goodbye Ichigo! Don't forget!"

"Don't worry, Yuzu. I'll never forget you." Ichigo looks at his dad, who looks as though he is about to burst, and motions for him to join. Isshin nods, scoops up Karin, and they all enter a group hug, with Ichigo in the center. After a few moments, they separate, and Ichigo crouches down to Yuzu's height, wiping away the tears. "I'll be back before ya know it." He says, smiling earnestly at her. This invokes as smile from her, and everyone else as well, including Hiyori and Karin.

Turning from them, Ichigo looks over his shoulder one last time and throws them one final grin, taking Hiyori by the hand in walking through the door.

…**...**

"Are you ready, Ichigo?" Urahara asks, making sure that the dagger he is holding over said boy's heart is in a position to kill him instantly.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess," he replies.

"I'm sorry, Ichigo, but you have to be in you're body when you die. It will all be over soon, and you'll barely feel any pain at all."

"I know. Let's just… do this."

"Ok. One, Two, Three!" Urahara plunges the blade into the young man's chest, cutting through his heart. Ichigo feels the cold steel cut into his flesh, feel the sting at he dies for only a moment. No more than five seconds later, Ichigo's lifeless body falls to the ground, and his soul reaper form appears next to it. However, there is one thing different about him…

"Ichigo, why do you have a sealed zanpakuto on your back?" Hiyori asks.

"Well, it would seem that it reconstituted itself when he became a regular soul reaper. There shouldn't be any differences in it, though. You'll just have to think of a release command. In order to do that, you'll have to talk to your zanpakuto about what it should be."

"Well, now I'm officially an actual soul reaper, I guess," Ichigo said, not worrying about his zanpakuto's release command. He'll just talk to Zangetsu before they leave.

"Yeah. Does it fell any different?" Hiyori asks.

"Not really. Actually, it kinda feels natural. Well, I'm gonna go smooth out this whole release command thing. See you in a bit."

"Alright. Come get me when you're ready," Urahara says, leaving to take Ichigo's body to the funeral home, where a funeral is already planned for tomorrow.

…**.**

"Are you ready?" Ichigo asks Hiyori, who looks up at him and nods. They had already said their goodbye's to the Vizards, which was slightly less emotional, considering Ichigo had offered them to be part of Squad Zero if he could manage it.

"Well, let's go. Hat'N'Clogs, open it up."

When the Senkaimon has opened, the couple starts sprinting to the other end of the precipice world, trying to avoid the cleaner and restrictive current.

Once on the other side, they are greeted by Head Captain Yamamoto himself.

What they don't expect, however, are his next words.

"Hiyori Sarugaki, you are under arrest by order of Central 46, under the charges of gaining hollow abilities through a forbidden practice. Ichigo Kurosaki, if you attempt to help her, you will be stripped of your Kingship and the both of you will be put to death."

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Ichigo screams, pulling Zangetsu off of his back. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, OLD MAN!"

"Hiyori Sarugaki and company are still at large, and are still to be put to death." Yamamoto replies calmly.

"LIKE HELL THEY ARE! IF YOU TAKE ONE STEP CLOSER, I'LL CUT YOU ALL IN HALF!" he screams at the small army that is Squad One. "HOLD YOUR GROUND, ZANGETSU!" He releases his zanpakuto into Shikai. Why, no one knows, considering he then calls out "BANKAI!"

Either way, through the dust comes a fully hollowfied Ichigo, clutching Hiyori to his chest, not daring to let her go. Ichigo strikes at Yamamoto, who counters with much difficulty, before releasing his own sword.

"All things in the universe, turn to ash! Ryujin Jakka!" he bellows, and the flames of Ryujin Jakka start to close around the couple.

"NO WAY IN HELL, OLD MAN!" Ichigo yells as he speeds towards the exit before they can close the gate. Firing off two Getsuga Tenshos at the guards manning said gate, he speeds through with his girlfriend, and in no time, they are immediately back in the world of the living.

"DAMN THAT OLD MAN!" Ichigo yells out into the night sky, and Hiyori starts to get over her shock. Realizing that her beloved is being angry enough for the two of them, and that the Soul Society would be after them soon, she speaks up.

"Ichigo… let's just go home. Shinji can hide us again, and we can move if we need to. Please, they'll be here soon."

"You're right… let's go," he says tightly.

…**..**

Back at the Warehouse, Hiyori explains the situation while Ichigo sits down with his head in his hands.

"Damn that Old Man," Shinji says angrily, and the rest of the Vizards all mumble in agreement. "Don't worry, you can stay here. We'll move to a new location in Hachi's barrier. I'll also get Urahara to make you a gigai. Sorry, we got rid of your body already."

"It's fine. They'll need it at the funeral tomorrow anyway. Can I just go to sleep tonight? I don't feel like doing anything right now."

"Sorry, but if they're here, we've got to move. Otherwise, we could get caught."

"Fine. Let's just do this, then."

…**..**

It's raining.

Today is April 17th, one month before the anniversary of their mother's death, the day of their brother's funeral.

But they aren't sad. Sure, they'll miss him, but they know that he'll visit every now and then. He won't forget about them. And when they pass, he will be waiting for them in the Royal Dimension.

So, while the tears they shed are real, they are not sad ones. They are content.

Karin and Yuzu, dressed in simple black gowns, are sitting next to their father, who is in the same black suit that he wore for his wife's funeral. Yuzu is the one crying, while Karin and Isshin just smile sadly but contently. As they look at the grave of Ichigo Kurosaki, 16 years old, killed in the mugging of a 'humble' candy store, they remember that this isn't goodbye forever.

Everyone else leaves, with the three remaining behind. Then, Yuzu looks up.

And standing there is none other than Ichigo Kurosaki, 16, wearing black soul reaper robes, sword on his back. He smiles sadly, and Karin and Isshin look up to see what she is looking at. When they see him, he says two words before Flash Stepping to the new Vizard hideout, another abandoned warehouse twenty miles from the original one.

As the words reverberate in their minds, they try to decipher they're meaning. Could he be talking about leaving them? Or was there something else? Why was he alone? Where was Hiyori, and why did he look… apologetic?

These two words were said with the strain of knowing that he will have to break his promise, and that he may not see his family again for a very long time.

"I'm sorry."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Ok, I got to work extra long on this one. And I'm glad I did. I'm not sure when I'll be able to upload again. It may be tomorrow, or it may be next month. I don'tknow. But, I'm sure you don't want to listen to me banter. One last thing though: If you want or need translations, just PM me or something. If I get a couple of requests, I'll put them in at the bottom. Anyway, as always, please review! I'm getting lonely with no feedback!**

**Disclaimer: In Bleach, things are never this good.**

Five years. Five years of running and hiding. Five years of dodging the Soul Society, his friends, hell, even his family. Five long years with nothing but the clothes on their backs, the small amount of money in their pockets, and the meager rations (which have grown even more meager), and the few people around them.

Not that he didn't like them, or they him. They were all like family to him. But, it wasn't the happiest environment. The only thing he had to look forward to was waking up to Hiyori in the mornings, and even the joy brought with that was quickly dispelled, due to the depressed they all wore constantly.

But today, that changes. It is said that it takes ten years to learn Bankai, and ten years to master it. Lisa, Mashiro, and Hiyori have done it in five. Albeit, they had all started learning Bankai years before, their mastery was complete. Now, all they had to do to gain a normal life was go knocking on the Soul Society's front door, and then knock it down as they answer it.

"Is everybody ready?" Shinji asks, and there are only a few solemn nods in response. Ichigo looks down to Hiyori, who looks at him. They have agreed to stay near each other during the fight. Hogyoku or not, if she died, his hollow would take over. At that point, he would let it. He would have no more reason for living, seeing as his family probably hates him by now. It pains him to think it, but he cannot deny that he abandoned them. And his friends probably think him dead… alright, no pun intended, but they have probably long forgotten about him and moved on with their lives.

"Alright, let's go," Shinji says, stepping through the make-shift Senkaimon made by Urahara.

…**.**

Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya is walking his usual routine around the Kurosaki household. Ever since the disappearance of the newly made full soul reaper Ichigo Kurosaki, Squads Ten and Two have been assigned to the world of the living. Toshiro had volunteered to watch the Kurosakis along with a small band of seated officers. He had reasoned that he should be the one to do so, seeing as he _was_ the captain of Squad Ten, the most efficient of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

In all actuality, he just wanted to see _her_.

_Her_ being Karin Kurosaki, Ichigo's younger sister. He didn't know why, but ever since his recent growth spurt, which made him look five years older. He has been infatuated with her. Though he would not think it openly, he knew what it was deep down. Instead, he just blamed it on hormones. After all, she _had_ aged in the past five years, being human and all. _Yes, she has filled out quite nicely… STOP! I AM A CAPTAIN! I CANNOT HAVE THESE THOUGHTS!_

As he mentally berates himself, he grabs a fistful his white hair in annoyance. He had decided to keep it a bit short, without losing its spiky quality. Instead of sticking everywhere like an orange haired idiot, he kept it pointing straight up, that stubborn bang still managing to find its way down.

As he walks past her window, he sees her. His heart starts fluttering, and then falls like a rock. He hates seeing her crying like she is now. _Damn you Kurosaki, why did you do this?_Then, he feels guilty. _It's because of us. But you could still visit her!_

_Before being carted of by us and put to death…_

Deciding that he mustn't be worried about what a human does or feels, he collects himself once more, before continuing his watch. He doesn't go near her room for the rest of the night.

…**.**

"Where did you go, Ichigo?" Karin asks quietly, crying into the pillow on her lap. "You said you would visit… you promised… you never break your promises…" she sobs. She does this every so often, just sits in her room, crying. She never lets her father or sister know, though. The Old Man would be fine, but Yuzu needs someone to be strong for her, and she made a promise. _What about your end of the deal, Ichigo?_

She is eighteen now, and has accepted that she is, indeed, female. She doesn't dress in girly clothing, though. She just doesn't dress on boy's clothes anymore, settling for sportswear instead. She has let her black hair grow a little, allowing her to tie it up in a small ponytail, and her grey eyes are just as expressionless as ever. Her façade is impeccable, rivaling even that of the black haired man with the hair accessory that she sees pass by the house every month. She has to keep it up, otherwise she would break her promise, and she won't do that. Especially not the ass kicking part, should she ever see her brother again.

And now, she actually stands a chance. Ever since she became a soul reaper at the hands of her father, she has trained her mind and soul to the fullest potential. She can use a Shikai, and has even learned some Kido, when the people from the Soul Society leave the house between shifts. She takes it as a sign that he has abandoned them too, and she vows to capture him one day. One day, she will learn Bankai, and then she will search for him, never stopping until she finds him.

Little does she know, she won't have to.

…

Yuzu sighs. As she cooks dinner, she spaces out for a moment. Ever since that day at the funeral, he dad has been acting depressed. She remembers being able to see him for some reason, but she hasn't been able to see any other spirits every since.

After a month, her and her twin began to understand. After two months, they were in denial, hoping and praying that he will visit. But after five years, she is the only one who has kept the family alive. Sure, their father is still goofy and all, but without Ichigo to beat him up, things are just dull around the house. And Karin… she was the most affected. She was closer to Ichigo, because she looked up to him more. She aspired to be just like him, and while her bond with her brother was strong, it wasn't quite like theirs.

Yuzu just hopes that everything will be alright in the end, and that there will be a perfectly reasonable explanation for everything. And somehow, she feels particularly good about today.

…**..**

As they step through the gates, they are greeted by Ganju Shiba, sitting atop his boar. "Long time, no see, Ichigo! I take it that you're here to storm the Seireitei again?" he says jokingly. As he looks at Ichigo's serious expression, and then at his friends' his face falls to shock. "Wait, you really are, aren't you? Who got kidnapped this time?"

"No one, but they threatened all of us. Now, it's time to repay the favor," Ichigo replies, venom lacing his voice.

"I see. Do you need to use the cannon again?"

"No thanks. I'm thinking that Jidanbo may be kind enough to let us through."

"Well, if ya need anything, we've gone to the Left District. See you around, Ichigo."

"See you," he replies shortly, before taking off towards the North Gate. As they approach, a familiar looking giant wielding in ax greets them.

"Halt! You shall not- Hey, Ichigo, is that you?" Jidanbo says, squinting and lowering his head to the small band of Vizards.

"Hey Jidanbo. Do you think that you could open the gate for us?"

"Sorry, Ichigo. Head Captain Yamamoto said not to. He also said that you were to be captured. So, I guess I've got to capture you!" Jidanbo says, pulling a second axe from his robe and swinging them at Ichigo.

Ichigo, in an act of pure nostalgia, pulls his zanpakuto into Shikai wordlessly and crushes the giant blades.

"Not again! Ichigo, you're so mean! Why'd you have to go and break my axes again!?" the giant cries, clutching the handles of his weapons to his chest.

"Listen, Jidanbo, I'm sorry about you're axes, okay? But we need to go through here."

At that moment, the gate opens, revealing the entirety of Squad Eleven, Captain Kenpachi Zaraki and Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi, who has grown big enough to not be able to ride on her adoptive father's shoulder anymore and looks to be about 23, heading the small army.

"Hey, Ichigo! Where'd you go? Not afraid to fight me, are ya?" Kenpachi says with a bloodthirsty grin, sending shivers down his entire Squads spines, save for his Lieutenant, third, and fifth seats.

"Actually, that's why we're here. Now, let's get this over with!" Ichigo replies as he charges at the burly captain, who blocks easily, causing both to slide back into a nearby empty courtyard with Hiyori close behind, leaving the rest to fight. Yachiru, who has grown out of watching and into fighting, calls out her Shikai.

"Bud, Chi no Hanabira!" she calls out, causing her zanpakuto to react accordingly. It morphs into a pair of arm-length metal gauntlets, each finger adorned with three inch long, razor sharp claws. "Now who wants to fight me?" She calls out to the small group in a cheery voice.

"Ooh me! Me! Pick me!" Mashiro calls out from behind her mask while raising her hand and jumping with excitement.

"Ok! Here a come, Greeny!" Yachiru sounds back, testing her nickname for her fun new opponent. They tear off at each other, kicking and scratching accordingly.

"Well then, what about you there?" Ikkaku asks, pointing Hozukimaru at Kensei.

"Who, me? You think you can beat me?" Kensei yells back, pulling his own mask on.

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing!" and the two commence their own attacks.

"Well, seeing as you're the most beautiful of your hag tag group, I guess you'll be fighting me," Yumichika says self-righteously.

"Very well, then. I suppose there is no way around it," Rose replies, summoning his beak like mask. Once again, the pair attacks each other, and Shinji, Hachi, Love and Lisa are left with the rest of the Squad.

"Remember, we aren't here to kill anybody! Just beat them, and let's go home!" Shinji reminds the others.

…**..**

"Karin, stay here. You need to take care of your sister while I'm gone, ok?"

Karin, whose mind makes a connection with the sentence, is suddenly very worried. "Dad, where are you going?" she asks cautiously. _He'd better not be leaving…_

"I'm going to Urahara's to help Ichigo. Don't worry, I'll bring him home," Isshin says, cocking a grin and a thumbs-up.

"Wait, what? Really!? I'm going with you!" Karin responds, immediately snapped out of her worried state and into an excited one.

"Listen, you need to stay with your sister and keep her safe. If any of those other soul reapers come into the house, put Kon in your body and have him carry Yuzu away while you cover your escape. Am I understood?"

"Bu-"

"Am I understood?" Isshin says more forcefully, gripping his daughter's soul reaper form by the shoulders.

"Yeah, dad. You're understood," she replies, crestfallen.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere. I'm just gonna go, kick some ass, then bring your brother back here, so that you can kick his. Deal?" Isshin says.

"Deal," Karin replies, a glint of fire in her eye.

"Good." And with that, Isshin leaves in soul reaper form, his captain's cloak wrapped around is arm as per usual. He, Urahara and Yoruichi are going to keep the two Squads posted in the World of the Living from leaving.

When he gets to the meeting place, a humble candy store, they head out before a Hell Butterfly can reach their opponents to call for them to fall back. As they near the old warehouse where the ongoing investigation for Ichigo is going on, they are ambushed by the entire Stealth Force.

"Yoruichi Shihoin, Kisuke Urahara, you are under arrest for assisting in the escape of Ichigo Kurosaki and the group known as the Vizards," a venomous female voice calls out from behind them.

"Ah, Soi Fon, so nice to see you again! It's really been too long, hasn't it?" Urahara says behind his fan, before turning deadly serious and pulling his Benihime out. "If that's the case, then I guess you'll have to take us by force."

"I plan on it," Soi Fon replies angrily. "Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi!"

"I'll handle her, Kisuke. You take the rest of them on. Isshin, you take that busty Lieutenant and Squad Ten inside," Yoruichi says with authority.

"Aww, why don't I get the busty Lieutenant?" Urahara wines.

"Because you got the last busty opponent!" Isshin says exasperatedly.

"But that was just sparring with Yoruichi!" Urahara reasons.

"Yeah, and I had Tessai! Fair's fair!"

"Fine," Urahara wines before attacking the black dressed ninjas surrounding them, opening a path to the entrance of the warehouse.

"So, Soi Fon, let's see how much you've improved, shall we?"

"Yoruichi Shihoin, I will kill you here if you do not surrender here." _It's just like last time._

"Why? What have I done? I didn't abandon you this time, Soi Fon. You threaten my friend, and I helped him out. I would do the same for you," Yoruichi replies calmly.

"Shut up! You're lying!" Soi Fon yells before activating her Shunko and attacking her idol.

Inside the warehouse, Isshin is confronted by the aforementioned "busty lieutenant". "Hello, Mr. Kurosaki! You wouldn't happen to know where your son is, would you?" Rangiku asks playfully.

"Actually, I do. And I'm here to keep you from getting to him," Isshin replies, pulling Engetsu from its sheath.

"Is that so? Well, I guess we'll have to beat you then, huh?" Rangiku says, drawing her own zanpakuto. "Growl, Haineko!"

…

"So, finally come to give me my rematch, huh Ichigo? Kenpachi says with his grin still plastered all over his face.

"Yeah, but I've got to make it quick. Sorry, Kenpachi, but this is important," Ichigo replies, pulling his mask on, triggering the transformation of his attire.

"Is that so? Well, I guess I'll have to go full power, too. Oh, and Ichigo, you should probably know something."

"What is it?" Then Ichigo notices something different, now that he is looking. And that thing is the condition of his blade. It looks brand new.

"Me and my zanpakuto have been talking, thanks to you. Turns out we both love fighting. Who would've thunk it, right?" Kenpachi reveals with a chuckle, confirming Ichigo's fears.

"That so? Well, let's see what you can do! Bankai!" the orange haired soul reaper yells, dashing at Kenpachi. As they clash swords, Ichigo feels a tingling sensation through his arm, the hairs on it standing on end. His eyes widen in realization, and he leaps back, just as a tongue of lightning leaps from Kenpachi's zanpakuto.

"Never would've thought I'd see the day when Kenpachi Zaraki would use a Kido type zanpakuto," Ichigo says in half-mock disbelief.

"I said the same thing. Now let's fight!" With that, the large man attacks, electricity covering his blade. Ichigo side steps, and slashes at Kenpachi from behind, only to be blocked by the newly repaired zanpakuto.

"How did you-" Ichigo says in full disbelief this time, jumping back once more.

"When I charge my sword up, I can do three things: I can fire it at people, which looks kinda badass, I can use it to increase the power of my swing and discharge it into my opponent, or a can use the lightning particles to speed up my blocks and cuts. Pretty cool, huh?" Kenpachi iterates.

"Well, let's see how you do against this! Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo yells. As the black and red crescent moon approaches Kenpachi, his grin gets even wider as he charges his sword and points at it, launching an arc of lightning. They collide mid air, but instead of the explosion intended by Kenpachi, the Getsuga absorbs the attack, gaining electrical sparks and a tinge of yellow in color. As it hits a confused Kenpachi, it does explode, after punching him into the nearest wall.

"I see you've got some new tricks too, huh…" the battle titan says as he stands up from the rubble.

"Yeah. I figured it out with my battle against one of the Espada, Grimmjow. Turns out, with this new hollow suit, my Getsuga absorbs any attacks that are weaker than it, and it adds their characteristics to them. Neat, huh?" Ichigo says.

"Yeah, I'd have to say so. Oh well, let's get on with this!" And they were off again, all the while Hiyori waiting for her chance to fight.

…**.**

"Maaaaaaaaaaaashiiiiiiiiiirooooooooooo," the green haired Vizard starts as she crouches under her surprised opponent, "SUPER KICK!" She launches up, landing her foot in Yachiru's gut, launching the girl into the air.

"Oomph! That was a good hit! You're really fun to fight with!" Yachiru yells when she regains her composure.

"Thanks! You're really fun too! Wanna be friends!?"

"Sure! But right now, I gotta fight you, sorry! Maybe later we can play tag?"

"YAY! TAGILOVETAGOHMYGOSHILOVETAG!" Mashiro exclaims, jumping up and down in excitement.

"IKNOWMETOOWEAREGONNABESOGREATBESTFRIENDS!" Yachiru, somehow able to speak Mashiro, responded in kind.

Meanwhile, the other battles were going in a similar, yet not as loud manner.

"Hey, you're pretty good!" Ikkaku says, smashing his sword hilt and sheath together. "Extend, Hozukimaru!"

"You're not so bad yourself! Hey, after this, wanna grab a beer or something?"

"Sure! I know a place where we can get totally plastered!"

"Sounds great! I'll invite Ichigo, too!"

And the beauty divas were discussing their own topics.

"I love what you've done with your hair. How do you get at all wavy like that?" Yumichika asks, panting slightly.

"That's a secret shared with only the closet of friends, I'm afraid. Though I appreciate that someone has noticed its beauty." Rose replies, flipping said hair slightly.

Determined to become this man's friend to get that secret, Yumichika thinks of a way to bond with him after this whole mess is finished.

However, the rest of Squad Eleven was too busy lying on the ground, unconscious to say anything, and the Seventh was arriving on the site, Shinji taking on Captain Komamura, and Love challenging Tetsuzaemon.

These battles were over surprisingly quickly, seeing as Komamura never wins, and neither does his Squad, and they joined the steadily growing pile of unconscious bodies. This is when Squad Eight shows up.

"Oh, my sweet Lisa-OWW!" Shunsui is interrupted by a rather heavy kick to the face, courtesy of his previous lieutenant.

"Hello, Nanao. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Nanao just stands there, numb. She doesn't know what to say. Her idol is standing before her, after having just done what she has always wanted to do since the start of her time as a lieutenant. She quickly realizes that she can't fight her, and just stands still.

"Lisa, what was that for!?" Shunsui complains loudly, clutching his bloody nose.

"That was for being a pervert all those years! And this is for attacking us!" she yells is response, launching another flying kick in the direction of his face. He catches it, however, and sets her down gently.

"I was never going to attack you, Lisa. I could never attack my sweet Lisa!"

_*SLAM*_

"OWWWWW!"

"Alright, that one was for fun. Now tell your men to stand down!"

"You heard her, men. Stand down, and let's just have a drink!"

"But Captain, they're the enemy!" one of the Squad members complains.

"Not anymore, they aren't! Besides, we don't stand a chance! Just have a friendly drink!"

"I'm sorry, Shunsui. I can't right now, but maybe after all this is done we can all sit down together," Lisa says.

"Very well. It'll be just like old times! I'll go and tell Jushiro!" And like that, he's off to the district that Squad Thirteen has been assigned to.

"Well, that went better than expected," Shinji says.

"What did you expect? Shunsui has always had a sweet spot for Lisa," Love comments.

"True, true. Well, that just leaves Squads One, Three, Five, Six and Nine, if Shunsui pulls through with Jushiro."

"Please, that man couldn't say no if his life depended on it! I'll bet he's looking for an excuse to not fight anyway."

"True enough. Heads up, looks like two more squads." Sure enough, Lieutenant Izuru Kira and Lieutenant Momo Hinamori with their squads have shown up, swords drawn.

…**.**

Back at the Kurosaki residence, Toshiro is getting a bad feeling.

"Men, I want you to go back to the warehouse immediately. I will keep an eye on these three," he says to the men of his group. How they didn't notice Isshin, no one's quite sure. Must've been a trick of the sun.

"Yes, Captain," the men say, Flash Stepping to the investigation site. Toshiro then sneaks in through an open window, which just so happens to be Ichigo's.

"What was that?" Karin says aloud, fully aware that her sister cannot hear or even see her. She knows what's going on, but she is completely blind to it. Then, she hears the noise again. Footsteps. Upstairs. She hurries up the steps, using her already proficient Flash Step.

When she nears the source though, she freezes. _It's coming from…_She rushes to the door of her brother's room and bursts through the door, startling a weird white haired man that she swears she's seen before. Confusion turns to recognition, and then to anger. "What the hell are _you_ doing here," she spits venomously.

Toshiro, still shocked at Karin's current state, and the fact that she is brandishing what is definitely a zanpakuto towards him. Finally regaining his voice, he voices a question of his own. "You're a… soul reaper?"

"Yeah? So what if I am?" Karin replies indignantly.

"But… how did you… did your brother do this?"

_*BAM*_

"Don't even say his name to me. Don't you dare," Karin says, her fist still extended in an after-punch position.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, alright? I didn't know!" Toshiro replies quickly, not wanting to get hit again. _What a punch…_

"Now, _what are you doing here?_" she asks again, her thin patience obvious.

"I came to see if you and you're family were alright!" Toshiro defends.

"No, you didn't. Otherwise, my dad wouldn't be fighting with your men. What happened, Toshiro?" Karin asks, not fully wanting to hear the answer.

"Well, Ich- your brother has abandoned the Soul Society. But in all honesty, it's our fault," Toshiro says, not fully believing that he is defending the boy after what he's done. _Then again, he only did it because of us…_

"What the hell do you mean?" Karin growls, the anger inside of her quickly seeping into her voice.

"Well, you see…" He then explains the Head Captain's threat, and Ichigo's response. He explains how his and another Squad were assigned to the World of the Living to search for him, leaving out the part about him volunteering to watch the house.

"So, it's _your fault_ he left," Karin says lowly, her head pointed slightly to the ground, her eyes not looking at him. His are looking down as well, but out of shame.

"Yes. I apologize, and I will no longer continue to pursue him. Now that I look at the situation, I have decided that it is not the correct decision. I-"

"You _apologize?_ Is that the best you can do? You took away the only person I've ever looked up to, ever believed in, and you made me think that he abandoned us. How _dare_you assume that an _apology_ will make everything alright!?" she ends in a near yell, causing Toshiro to flinch.

"Karin, listen, I-"

"No, _you_ listen. You leave here and _NEVER_come back. If I ever see you again, I _WILL_ kill you. Do you understand?"

"Please, Karin-"

"_Do you understand?"_

Toshiro hesitates for a moment. "Yes, I understand. I shall never bother you again." He then leaves back out of the window, Flash Stepping to the warehouse, not daring to let the tears in his eyes fall.

Karin, however, is having no such luck. After he leaves, she falls to her knees in shame and anger, letting out body-racking sobs. "I'm so sorry, Ichigo! I didn't know! I forgive you! Whatever you're doing, please, just come home with dad!" she says her thoughts aloud, not trying to keep them within the boundaries of her mind. After a few moments, she recollects herself and travels back downstairs to keep watch over her twin once more.

…

"You know Kenpachi, I think you were right! This HAS been fun! But, I need to end it here. Sorry," Ichigo says, Flash Stepping in circles around Kenpachi, making dozens of after images with his incredible speed.

Kenpachi, who has already lost his eye patch and gained a few gashes in return, laughs aloud. "See? I told you it would be fun! Maybe we can do it again sometime, after I get my Bankai!"

"Yeah, that'd be fun! Well, for now, see ya Kenpachi." Then Ichigo plunges Tensa Zangetsu into Kenpachi's gut, careful to miss any major organs, but still letting the blood flow out enough to make him pass out.

"See ya, Ichigo," Kenpachi says before falling to the ground, unconscious.

"It's about time, dumbass!" Hiyori says as Ichigo approaches her, completely unscathed due to his armor. "You could've ended that battle ages ago!"

"Well, I knew he'd be much more agreeable if I just gave him the rematch that he wanted," he replied.

"Whatever, let's just get going!"

"Alright, alright, I'm going."

When the get back to Shinji and the others, who have all regrouped after either winning their battle or settling their differences peacefully (or letting a pink haired lieutenant run to Kenpachi to wait for him to wake up). "Hey, Ichigo, took you long enough. Have fun with the psychopath, did ya?" Shinji said jokingly.

"Actually, it was kinda fun. He's not that bad once you fight him and get it out of the way," Ichigo replied thoughtfully. Then they were surrounded by more soul reapers, this time headed by Lieutenant Shuhuei Hisagi.

"Just stop right there, Ichigo Kurosa-" he cuts himself off, noticing the white haired man who inspired him to become a soul reaper.

"Hey, you're that kid, aren't ya?" Kensei says, looking closer at the boy. "Long time no see! Guess you decided to become a soul reaper, huh? Well, good for you. And a lieutenant, no less! In a couple of years, you may even become a captain! Tell me, what squad are you in?"

Shuhuei, finding his voice, barely manages to stutter out "S-squad Nine, s-sir." He still can't believe that the enemy is his idol from so long ago. Images of Captain Kaname Tousen flash in his mind, and his shock turns into resentment. "So," he says lowly, interrupting Kensei's congratulations on becoming lieutenant of his old squad, "You betrayed the Soul Society, too?"

"Now, kid, look here. We did not betray the Soul Society. They betrayed us. Twice." Kensei says, suddenly very serious. So serious, in fact, that Shuhuei believes him.

"What do you mean? You're the one who deserted, right?"

"I'll tell you the whole story later, but basically, they blamed us and a few others for Aizen's wrong doings."

Shocked once again into silence, Shuhuei looks at his men slowly, and then nods, signaling them to lower their weapons as well. He looks back at Kensei, who just now notices the tattoo on Shuhuei's face. "I see I've really had an impact on you, huh? Well, what say you, me, Ichigo and my new friend Ikkaku over here all grab some drinks later?"

"I-It would be my pleasure, sir!" Shuhuei says, honored that he has been invited to a private party with his idol.

"Hey, who says I'm going to this party!?" Ichigo asks indignantly.

"We do, now shut up and finish you're fight," Ikkaku from his position on the ground, unable to move from the extent of his injuries.

"What! But I don't even drink! What the hell! What if I had plans!?" Ichigo protests.

"Do you?" when he doesn't get an answer, Ikkaku continues, "Exactly no pay attention, looks like Squad One and Captain Kurotsuchi are here."

"Wha- oh, whatever!" Ichigo says as the afore mentioned people arrive. "I've got the Old Man!" he calls out. No one disputes him, purely because Ichigo is the strongest of them all.

"Fine! I get the creep!" Hiyori announces, pulling her mask on and her zanpakuto out.

"So, the brat has come back, has she? This time, you'll make excellent research material, now that that bastard Kisuke Urahara is gone."

"Yeah right! I'll kill you without even breaking a sweat! Bankai!" she announces.

Hiyori's zanpakuto transforms into a huge anaconda, covered in scales that are actually the hooks of Kubikiri Orochi. It opens its twenty yard wide mouth, hissing loudly. Hiyori stands atop it, dressed in a red flowing kimono. It has a few small pink ruffles on the chest, and its hem is long and billowing. It looks so much like a red, female version of Ichigo's Bankai garment and it's creepy. "Ha no Kyojin Kubikiri Orochi!"

"Well, this is unexpected. Ah, well, no matter," Kurotsuchi says. "Bankai. Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo." The large baby-caterpillar appears before Hiyori's Bankai, and it charges, thousands of blades popping out of its chest. However, as it gets with piercing distance, the snake's jaw unhinges, swallowing the creature whole. After a few seconds, the lump disintegrates, leaving Kurotsuchi weaponless.

"Oh. Well, that was unexpected as well. I apologize Head Captain Yamamoto, but a have no use here." And with that, he turns into a puddle of goo and creeps away.

"Captain Kurotsuchi! Get back here this instant!" Yamamoto bellows, but to no avail. He is furious; almost all of his Thirteen Squads are having either been defeated or _befriended_ the enemy.

Then Squad Six shows up, fashionably late, as per usual. "Head Captain, sir. I apologize for our tardiness. How shall we proceed?" Byakuya asks.

"Attack! Is it not obvious!?" Yamamoto almost yells. Almost.

"Yes, Sir. Bankai, Senbonzakura, Kageyoshi."

"Bankai! Hihio Zabimaru!"

As the two massive Bankais appear, Love and Rose decide to take care of them. This leaves Lisa, Hachi and Shinji to beat not only Squad Six, but also Squad One, along with Lieutenant Sasakibe.

"All things in the universe turn to ash, Ryujin Jakka," Yamamoto says, and the flames surge towards Ichigo, who raises Tensa Zangetsu, and lowers it again, yelling out "GETSUGA TENSHO!"

The two attacks clash and they rage against each other, fighting for dominance. Then, Ichigo, wanting to finish this battle as soon as possible, fires another Getsuga, slightly weaker than his previous one, which is absorbed, giving it more power than Yamamoto's attack, thus swallowing it as well. Yamamoto's eyes widen as Ichigo's attack turns a little more red then black, and black flames start flickering in its wake. Yamamoto manages to dodge a direct hit, but his arm gets caught in the blast, charring it completely.

He then uses his remaining arm to pull his cloak off, revealing a heavily muscled and scarred chest. He grabs his zanpakuto and dashes at Ichigo, clashing swords with the boy. He then knees the orange haired Vizard in the gut, only managing to bruise it and be knocked away.

"Heh, I guess I should tell you: this armor protects me from virtually all attacks. You can't hurt me without an extremely powerful attack, which my Getsuga can absorb anyway," Ichigo explains, attacking Yamamoto, who side steps, and thinks back to what this boy's weakness may be.

Then, it hits him. He dodges a punch through Flash Step, reappearing behind Ichigo, and punches him in the small of the back, right along the spine. Ichigo thrusts his chest out, immense pain shooting throughout his body. He falls to the ground and lays there in a crumpled heap.

"Ichigo!" Hiyori yells. "Ichigo, get up, you dumbass! Quit playing around!"

Ichigo regains his feet once the pain subsides, and he checks to see that no permanent damage was done. "What the hell was that, Old Man!?" he yells. _How the hell did he manage to hurt me with just his fist?_

"Tell me, Ichigo Kurosaki, do you know why you attack the spine in a battle?" Yamamoto questions.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?"

"It means, you subconsciously attack people's spines because you know that it is your one weak point, and that it must be others' as well."

"Dammit! Well, this battle is far from over, I hope you know!"

"Actually, it is," he says from behind Ichigo as he places a hand on the boy's back. "Hado number 96, Itto Kaso."

In his time of training under Zangetsu in Kido, he knows that he does NOT want to be here right now. He Flash Steps as far as he can, and he barely manages to escape the burning flames of the sacrificial Kido, leaving Yamamoto to burn alone.

"Well. That was stupid. Oh well, not my fault," Ichigo shrugs. As the flames die down, they see Yamamoto, barely still alive, missing his left arm. "You finally done, Old Man?"

"It would seem as though we may have made an error in judgment," Yamamoto replies, his voice still commanding somehow.

"Ok then, now that we're done with that, how about you call off your remaining men before they get hurt too," Ichigo says, ignoring the Old Man's comment.

"Men! Stand down! This fight is over!" Yamamoto yells from his crippled position. "Ichigo Kurosaki, I would like to make an offer-"

"Shut up, Old Man. I don't want your stupid offer. Now, you'll call off this stupid search, and you'll get those soul reapers away from my house. After that, you will clear the names of everyone here. Got it?" Ichigo says, walking over to his friends.

"Very well. I shall send a Hell Butterfly to the World of the Living immediately."

…**.**

However, in the World of the Living, there is no one to receive it. Soi Fon has passed out from trying to use too much power in her fight, Squads Two and Ten are unconscious from defeat, and Toshiro is… a little preoccupied at the moment.

"Isshin Kurosaki! I do not wish to fight you!" said captain yells, dodging swings of the older man's sword. "I am no longer searching for your son!"

"Oh yeah? And why should we believe you?" Yoruichi asks.

"Well, I suppose there is no real reason for you to believe a word I say, but I assure you, it's the truth! I'll even put my zanpakuto on the ground!" and he places Hyorinmaru on the ground gently.

"Fine. What is it that you want to say, then?" Isshin says.

"I merely wish to inform you that I am leaving with my men and we are not going to look for Ichigo Kurosaki anymore. Although, it looks to be a bit too late for that," he replies, looking at his passed-out Squad.

"Yeah, well, they didn't go down easily, if it helps any," Isshin says, scratching the back of his head. Then a Hell Butterfly appears.

"What's this? It seems that your son has infiltrated the Soul Society one again. I shall need to leave. I won't attack him, but I merely wish to defend what is mine. Is that alright?"

"Do I have your word that you will only defend your barracks?" Isshin says, looking the young man in the eye.

"I promise. Now, I shall be on my way." However, as he opens the Senkaimon, another Hell Butterfly flies out, and Toshiro listens to its message as well. "It would seem as though your son has won the battle. You may wish to join me, or you may stay here with your daughters. The choice is yours," he offers.

"In that case, I'll go and get him. Kisuke, Yoruichi," he says, nodding at them as he steps through the gate.

"We'll just be going back to the shop. I'm sure Tessai's strung Jinta up by his ears by now," Urahara says, turning and walking towards said shop.

"You go ahead, I'll wait for little Soi Fon here to wake up," Yoruichi replies, to which Urahara pauses. For some reason, once hearing her name, he has the urge to wait behind for Soi Fon as well, but he decides to convince himself that he just doesn't want to have to handle Tessai and Jinta by himself. _Yeah, that's it._ After thinking it through for all of two seconds, he leaves anyway.

Yoruichi, however, notices his delay, and smirks to himself. _Looks like I was right. They_are_in love. Even if they don't know it yet._

"Well, we'll be off then. Goodbye, Miss Shihoin," Toshiro says as the Senkaimon closes behind him.

…

"Hey, Ichigo, we should probably leave before-" Shinji starts before a very familiar, very motherly, and very, VERY, agitated spiritual pressure appears behind him.

"Hello, Ichigo Kurosaki. It's been a while, Shinji Hirako. Tell me, how many men would you say are injured due to your attack?" Retsu Unohana says calmly, smiling all the time, and yet somehow still managing to strike fear into everybody's hearts at the same time.

"Y-Yes, it has, R-Retsu. Listen, we're r-really sorry…"

"No need to explain. However, if you would be so kind as to _politely_ escort these men to my Squad, I would appreciate it _very much,_" she says, putting only the slightest hint of an exaggeration on her words, which pretty much means "do it or I'll castrate you."

"Y-Yes ma'am," they all reply hurriedly before grabbing two bodies, or in Hachi's case several hundred inside a barrier, and Flash Stepping at the best of their abilities to the Squad Four barracks.

"Still as scary as ever, huh Retsu?" a chuckling voice says from the gateway, and Unohana's eyes widen partially for a second at hearing an old friend's voice.

"Is that you, Isshin?" she says, turning around with her kind smile glued on.

"Yeah, it's me. Been a while, huh? Where are Jushiro and Shunsui?"

"Right here! Long time no see!" Shunsui says as he and Jushiro appear beside Unohana.

"Yes, too long," Jushiro adds with a friendly smile.

"Yeah, it has! What d'ya say we all go out for a drink tonight?" Isshin says eagerly.

"Sounds great! Jushiro, I'll pick you up later. You coming, Retsu?" Shunsui asks the polite woman.

"No, I'm sorry, but we will be overworked tonight with the wounded," she replies politely.

"Meh, don't worry about it! They just need a good night's rest, is all. Kenpachi should be healed by morning," Shunsui counters. It's been too long since Unohana joined them, and he knows how much Jushiro likes her company.

"Well, you do seem to be correct. Still, I'll need to see to the healing of the head captain, seeing as his left arm is now missing, and he has third degrees burns all over his body."

"Great! See ya around 8!" he says, turning around with his arm around Jushiro's shoulders in a friendly manner.

"Why did you corner her like that, Shunsui?" Jushiro asks when they are out of earshot.

"Oh c'mon, she wouldn't have gone any other way! You should be thanking me!"

"… yes, I suppose you are right. Thanks."

"No problem! Now, let's go reserve a room for tonight."

…**.**

"So then I say: 'Mashiro, what are you doing? That's not a toaster!'"

A thoroughly intoxicated Ichigo, Ikkaku, Shuhuei and Renji all laugh at Kensei's drunken story. "Yeah, she's not the brightest crayon in the box. But, that's why love her. What 'bout you, kid? You got a special lady?" Kensei inquires, his voice slurred with alcohol.

"Well, I've got this girl… but she doesn't know I like her… I doubt she can even feel the same way," Shuhuei replies sadly.

"Nonsense! You're a cool enough guy; you should be able to get any girl you want!"

"Well, she used to love someone, but they died after betraying her," Renji says.

"Oh, that's rough. Well, I hope it all works out for ya," Kensei adds.

"Yeah, thanks. What about you, Renji? You seein' anybody?"

"Nah, but I do have my eye on someone. It's only a matter of time!"

"Renji, you do know that Rukia's never gonna fall for ya, right?" Ichigo says which irritates the red haired captain.

"Oh yeah, and why's that, carrot-top?" Renji spits back, ramming his forehead against Ichigo's.

"Well, let's see, maybe because you tried to kill her, pineapple-head! Or do you not think that's a big deal?" Ichigo says, pushing back against Renji. The two then start to beat the crap out of each other, since the girl in question isn't around to separate the two.

"So, Ikkaku, what about you?" Kensei asks his new best friend.

"What about me?"

"What?"

"Who?"

"I… I don't know… quit changing the subject!"

"What subject?"

"He's askin' ya if ya seein' anybody!" Shuhuei reminds him.

"Oh, well not really, I guess. I mean, I know somebody, and I think I got a shot, and we've know each other for awhile now…"

"It's not Yumichika, is it?"

"What did you say!? Are you saying I'm gay!? I'll be havin' your life for that one!"

"Calm down, just a joke. Anyway, what's stoppin' ya?"

"Well, it's her dad. He's real protective, and I respect him, so I don't wanna betray his trust."

"Wait. You only respect three people: yourself, Ichigo, and Kenpachi. Don't tell me you're into Yachiru?"

"Wha-what!? How'd ya figure it out!? Aren't you supposed to be drunk?"

"Meh, I haven't had that much to drink."

"Oh. Well, so what if I am!?"

"Nothin', nothin'! I mean, after all, she has grown up. I'm sure Kenpachi will… nope, you're definitely screwed."

"I know! That's why I'm training to get stronger than him. If I can beat him, he'll have to see that I'm the perfect man for her!"

"You sure? Ichigo's already beat him, and I don't see him getting permission."

"That's because Ichigo's already got a girl! My captain may not be the best with… manners… and stuff… but he believes in being with one girl at a time!"

"I get it, I get it. Well, the best of luck to you!"

And the drinking went on until late in the night. Somewhere along the line, Kenpachi had joined them, and of course, was accompanied by Yachiru. Ikkaku is in the background, staring at her in a dream-like trance. Neither she nor Kenpachi seems to notice, so Yumichika just sits with him and prattles on about hair products with Rose.

"Hey, Ichigo, you ready for round two?" Kenpachi challenges the drunken soul reaper.

"Wha-? Not right now, Kenpachi, I've got a… a…. thing… to do…" he says as though he was trying to remember what he was previously doing. He has the sudden urge to run up to strangers and yell "Tag, you're it!" for no reason at all. It's the _best_idea he's ever had! Why hadn't he thought of it sooner!?

"Hey, Renji… uh… tag! You're it!" Ichigo yells as he shoves the lieutenant in the shoulder and runs off. Or at least, he attempts to, and instead falls to the ground after tripping over his own feet.

"Hey! Get back here, ya bat restart! Wait… no… rat bastard!" he yells, and runs off in whichever direction he thinks that he so Ichigo run in.

"Hey! Watch where you're falling- oh, it's you! Hey there Mr. Strawberry," Lisa says in a seductive voice, much to Hiyori's chagrin.

"Knock it off, ya big pervert!" she yells, slightly mixing her words together under the effects of alcohol.

"What? I didn't even do anything!" Lisa protests.

"Yeah right! You were flirting with my boyfriend! I saw you!"

"Hiyori, she was just sayin' hi," Ichigo reasons, though his words are only half decipherable through his intoxicated accent.

"And you! What were you doing letting her!"

"Me? What did I do? I'm innocent! She's the guilty one!" Ichigo defends, abandoning his efforts.

"Whatever! Just come buy me another drink!"

"Alright! Wait… where's the bar again?"

"I… dunno… Hey barkeep! Get me one of those… fancy drinks! The ones with the lime!"

"Don't you mean lemon?"

"No! Lime! Lime's are better!"

"Whatever."

"And what is that supposed to mean!?"

"N-nothing, darling!"

"There you are, you dy slevil! Wait… no… sly devil!" Renji yells, rounding the corner.

"Eeep! What are you doing, dumbass!?" Hiyori yells as Ichigo picks her up and takes off, yelling something along the lines of: "Hatch me hif ya can!"

"Why you little-oomph!" he yells back, tripping over somebody's foot, and lands on top of a very nervous, slightly intoxicated Isane Kotetsu, who was goaded into going by her sister.

"He-hello there, Lieutenant Abarai!" she squeaks out, bright red gracing her already pink cheeks.

"Oh, hey there, Isane… sorry about… tripping on you…" he says as he looks at her. Her grey eyes have suddenly gained a very… intriguing quality…

…

"Ichigo put me down! What are you doing!?" Hiyori yells as her lover takes her away from the "evil red-hear with the weird eyebrows".

"I'm taking you somewhere!" he replies from the other side of his shoulder. He was a firm grip on her side and her… well… assets.

"Where the hell are we going!?"

"I don't know! Just… just…"

"Just what?" she questions, breaking free from his grasp and looking him in the eyes.

In one smooth movement, he has her pinned against a nearby tree, and is sucking on her neck. He slides his hands into the waistband of her sweatpants, kneading the afore mentioned "assets". She lets out a moan, and Ichigo lifts her legs up to his shoulders, sliding her pants down at the same time. He plunges his tongue deep within her, feeling around violently, slurping her juices down. She gasps, and soon she is screaming his name.

…**..**

"So Shunsui, how much has changed?" Isshin says, taking a sip of his sake.

"Well, we here and Old Man Yama are the only ones from the original captains left. I'm sure you've met Toshiro already. Just 5 years ago, he looked like he was ten years old, and still a captain!" Shunsui replies.

"Wow, must be some prodigy! And what about that creep. Kurotsuchi? He really get Kisuke's position?"

"Yeah, all of 'em. He even made his own lieutenant!"

"Should've known! And what about you, Jushiro? How's that cough treatin' ya?"

"Well, actually, it's turned into a life-threatening disease," Jushiro says solemnly.

"Ouch, that's rough. Sorry, man, didn't mean to bring it up."

"It's no problem, really. Retsu over here is actually working on a cure, so I should be fine," he says, waving a friendly hand.

"Yes, we've come close to discovering how to heal him. With any luck, he'll be okay before his next attack," Unohana says with a warm smile. Isshin looks over at her and sees the glint in her eyes that hasn't been there since they were younger. She looks genuinely happy. He then looks at Jushiro, whose cheeks are dusted with a light pink.

Quirking an eyebrow at Shunsui, he receives a nod, and they both smile mischievously. Reaching over for the Sake, Isshin 'accidentally' knocks it over, spilling it on Shunsui's floral robe. Both standing up immediately, they excuse themselves from the room to change and use the bathroom, respectively, leaving a slightly intoxicated Retsu Unohana alone with an equally inebriated Jushiro Ukitake.

"Well, that was weird…" Jushiro says, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

"I think they did that on purpose…" is Unohana's response.

"I can't imagine why they would do that…" Jushiro says honestly. _How_dare_they leave me in this state!?_

"I think that I do. Captain Ukitake, is there something that you would like to tell me?" Unohana looks at him with those full, beautiful blue eyes and that warm, soft smile…

"Well, actually, you see…" he begins nervously. _What is wrong with me? I've faced the Head Captain's Ryujin Jakka; this should be nothing for me! Then why does it feel as though my chest is going to burst into flames? Am I having another attack? No… it's not that…_

"Captain Ukitake, are you okay?" Unohana says worriedly. _Why is he looking at me like that? If he doesn't stop, I may just jump him right now; wait, he couldn't possibly share my feelings…_

"Yes, I'm okay… I was just wondering… are you… are you free tomorrow? For lunch?" he forces himself to say, rushing the words out of his mouth. _There, it's done! Now, all I have to do is wait…_

_He does like me!_"I would love to join you," she says, her smile wide and genuine.

"Great! That's wonderful! Well, I guess I'll see you then…" He says, standing up, feeling as though he could walk on air. Alright, so what if he could, it's an expression!

_Oh, you are so not going that easily._Standing up quickly, she makes her way to him and connects their lips in a deep, long kiss, before breaking away, and leaving with a "Looking forward to it, Jushiro."

On her way out, she passes Isshin and Shunsui, but doesn't even realize, since she is currently reciting a song from the World of the Living that she heard recently. _I'm walkin' on sunshine, Oooooh!_

"Good job, Jushiro! Didn't think you had it in you!" Isshin says, entering the room once more. They continue to drink and converse until Isshin seems to have remembered something important, apologizing and running out of the room muttering something about her daughter and son.

…**..**

"Oooooh, Ichigo! Please, a little more!" Hiyori cries, her boyfriend still make out with her sex.

"Hiyori, I don't think I can hold back any longer…" Ichigo says, his hard on pushing painfully against his underwear.

"Uhn! Hurry and put it in!" She yells, nearing the peak of her pleasure.

"ICHIGO! WHERE ARE YOU! IT'S TIME TO GO HOME! KARIN, YUZU AND I ALL MISS YOU!" Isshin's voice blares, freezing the couple. They soon get over their shock and hurry to get dressed. As soon as their zanpakutos are across their backs once more, the eldest Kurosaki stumbles into the small clearing.

"Ichigo, there you are! I promised Karin I would- wait, is that a love-bite I see?" he says, inspecting Ichigo's neck. Ichigo, now fully sober from the adrenaline coursing through him, swats his father's hand away.

"What are you talking about, Old Man?" he says irritably.

"Ichigo, you have a hickey! And Hiyori does too! MY SON IS A MAN! MY SON HAS FINALLY BECOME A MAN!"

Hiyori blushes a bit and looks down embarrassedly. _You're a bit late for that…_ Ichigo, however, has resorted to fighting with the 'Old Creep', and is trading blows and insults with him.

"Alright, you too, quit it already!" Hiyori yells after regaining her composure. The two stop mid-swing, each clutching the other's shirt. "Now, didn't you say it was time to go? C'mon, dumbass. Let's go say bye to the others."

"Yeah, sure," he replies, getting up off the ground. Suddenly, he doesn't feel so good. Running over to a nearby tree for support, he sets his stomach on reverse, and all of his stomach contents are dropped on the ground. Hiyori is soon to follow, her own stomach deciding that it looked fun.

"Here, you two. Eat these. Urahara gave them to me. He calls them 'detoxicators'," he explains, handing them both a small tablet. They down them quickly, and then nod in appreciation when they're light headedness leaves and they don't have the urge to show the ground what they ate for breakfast.

…

It was late, and they still weren't home.

Yuzu had made dinner, and Karin had reentered her body upon deciding that there would probably be no more soul reapers, considering the one whom had run off was one of their captains. They had eaten the delicious meal, neither of them talking, just waiting for their father to fulfill his promise, and Ichigo to do the same. Karin had shared with Yuzu the information that Toshiro had given her.

"I knew he hadn't abandoned us!" Yuzu had said happily. When she heard it, she could barely keep from breaking down again. Yuzu had believed in their brother, no matter what. Even after five years, she had believed that one day, he would show up, and that everything would go back to normal. Even though she had every reason not to believe, even though she couldn't even see or hear the things her family told her, even though she had _seen_ her brother's body, she still believed that he was alive (or at least still existent), that he was out there, with a perfectly good reason for leaving them.

And what had Karin done? She had resented him. She was the one who was supposed to believe in him the most, even more than the rest of their family. She was the one who was supposed to look up to him, to aspire to be like him, to want to do everything he did. But, instead of remaining hopeful like her sister, she had abandoned the seemingly blind notion that he was ever coming back. She had even promised herself to beat the hell out of him! She felt so guilty, so ashamed. But she did not let it show.

Instead, she had resorted to waiting for Ichigo. Yuzu decided to wait up with her, but after a few hours, she had fallen asleep. But not Karin. She was not going to miss him.

He was coming home, and she was going to be waiting for him.

…

Now that they were nearing the house, Ichigo's mind was racing. He had been gone for five years, and he was just going to show up, as if nothing happened?

No. They deserved an explanation. He owed them that much. He had just turned his back on them, after all.

_No, I didn't. Every night, I thought about them._ But what if they still hated him? What would he do then?

What could he do? It wasn't like he could force them to believe in him. And why should they? Why should he expect to have their trust, after he had betrayed it? Even if their father believed in him, he knew how the Soul Society worked, and Karin and Yuzu didn't. Yuzu would probably just be glad that he was home, and that their family was intact once more.

_But Karin…_ he has no idea how _that_ is going to go. He imagines that she was the one who hated him. She would probably kick his ass right there. And he would let her. He deserved as much, after all.

He wonders if she had gotten to the 'why' part yet. 'Why' as in, 'why had he gone?' He hopes that she didn't blame Hiyori. While he had technically done it for her, and he would gladly do it again, he just wouldn't be able to bring himself to choose between the two, because he knows what his choice would be. And even though he loves his sister more than she would ever know, she would not be it. He just couldn't live without Hiyori.

As he reaches out for the door handle, clad in his gigai so that Yuzu could see him as well, he opens the door to his home for the first time in five years. And there she sits, her head perked, her eyes hopeful, before she realizes that he was, in fact, home.

She runs to him as fast as she can, and she tackles him in a bear hug. They both fall to the ground, and he can feel her tears staining his shirt. He cringes, and waits for her to start beating on him, to yell at him, to do _something_to indicate anger or hatred, but none of it comes. Instead, she just continues to hug him tightly and let loose the tears. Realizing that she was probably too tired to punish him, as late as it was, he contented himself with wrapping an arm around her small, sobbing figure. However, as she looks up at him, he finds neither anger nor resentment. Instead, the look…_apologetic?_

His theory is confirmed as she speaks to him, her tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry Ichigo, I'm so sorry; I didn't know…" she sobs, confusing him, until she iterates. "Toshiro told me… what happened… I'm so sorry!" she says between sniffles and wails.

"No, Karin. Don't be sorry. I'm the one who needs to apologize. I'm sorry; I should've never left you without an explanation. Shh, stop crying," he says, using his curved index finger to tilt her head up to look at him.

As he continues to comfort her, she starts to calm down. And as she does, she notices something different about him. Or rather, something exactly the same. He has not changed at all since he left, as though time had not gone on for him. Then she realizes that he is no longer in a real body, and she remembers that he must be using a gigai, and that the soul almost never ages. The only reason hers had was because she was still alive.

When they walk inside, they see Yuzu wide awake and waiting for them. Upon seeing her brother, her eyes brighten and she runs to him, calling out his name as she hugs him. Although she had grown taller over the past five years that he did not, he is still and probably always would be taller.

"Hey Yuzu. Sorry for not visiting. But we're all hear now, so let's eat dinner, for Old Time's sake," he says, eyeing the leftovers on the table hungrily. She nods and detaches from him a moment later, and the Kurosaki family plus Hiyori sit down for a normal dinner of bickering, fighting, and pointless banter.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys, I'm not dead! Although after this, you may wish I was… Anyway, here it is! Chapter 12! I apologize for its shortness, but with school and all, I'm kinda busy. Plus, I'm starting a new story! You see, I have recently watched some movies. Four of them, to be exact. My favorite being the first. If you haven't watched Bleach Movie: Memories of Nobody, DO SO NOW! It will, of course, be IchiSenn, which has been proven to be THE most OBVIOUS pairing in ALL of Bleach!**

**Disclaimer: Bleach. Not mine. Hollowfied Chad. Mine.**

As Ichigo wakes up, he looks down at the warm body in his arms. However, unlike everyday for the past five years, he does not frown, or feel any sadness at all.

Instead, he smiles. For, in place of the depressed, angry look the usually contorts her features, a warm, happy smile is plastered on Hiyori's face. _This moment is perfect. We don't have to hide, my family doesn't hate me, and I have you in my arms. Everything is right. But I have the strangest feeling that I'm forgetting something. _

Then, it hits him.

That is, his father's foot hits him, of course.

"GODDAMMIT OLD MAN, CAN'T A MAN AND HIS WOMAN HAVE A MOMENT OF PEACE!?"

"GOOOOD MOOOORNING ICHI- WHAT THE HELL!?" said 'old man' replies, interrupting himself mid-exclaim. The reason for this would obviously be the mass of warmth and blonde hair and all things perfect that is his fourth daughter, or more specifically, her placement in his son's arms. That coupled with the fact that the blanket that once covered the two was thrown askew by his and Ichigo's morning routine, revealing their nakedness, is enough to make Isshin do a double take. And then a triple take.

"OH, MY SON, I'M SO PROUD OF YOU! YOU'VE FINALLY BECOME A MAN! AND IN MY HOUSE TOO!"

"Knock it off, will ya? Otherwise, you might wake her up!" Ichigo hisses in a harsh whisper. However, the sound of a low murmur, followed by a blast of _very_ annoyed spiritual pressure, informs him that he was too late. _Shit._

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TWO YELLING AT THIS UNGODLY HOUR!" a thoroughly annoyed and somewhat outraged Hiyori yells. Then, a slight breeze from the cracked window reminds her of the fact that she is currently wearing her birthday suit, causing annoyance and anger to turn into embarrassment, which in turn generates more annoyance and anger.

"PERVERT! GET OUT OF OUR ROOM YA OLD MAN!" she yells indignantly at the quickly retreating Isshin. While he may have once been a captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Too bad Ichigo can't escape with him.

"AND YOU! WHY ARE YOU YELLING! IT'S ONLY 7 IN THE MORNING!"

"Umm, Hiyori? You're kind of yelling now, so…"

"SHUT UP! I HAVE A REASON TO!"

"OH, AND GETTING KICKED IN THE FACE ISN'T A GOOD ENOUGH REASON!?"

"SON! STOP YELLING BEFORE YUZU WAKES UP AND CATCHES YOU TWO!" Isshin yells from down the stairs.

"WHAT ABOUT ME, OLD MAN!?" That was Karin, who just walked past the bickering couple, and was happy that Hiyori was placed directly between the door and her brother's private regions, preventing years of mental therapy.

"Umm… Ichigo? Could you please put some clothes on before breakfast?" said the dreaded, timid voice that was the younger of the twins'.

"Oh god, Yuzu, I'm sorry you had to see this!" Ichigo lets out after wrapping the blanket around himself and Hiyori.

"I-It's fine! I'm okay!" she squeaks, moving her hands in front of her in a gesture to keep her brother from moving forwards before closing the door. "I'll just make some breakfast then! Maybe something with lemons…"

"Oh god, that was embarrassing!" Ichigo said, letting the blanket hang from his lover's body and pacing the room. "What am I gonna do? How will I face them? What if we scarred Yuzu? Oh god, the Old Man's NEVER gonna let me live this down…"

His frantic pacing and speaking are interrupted by an all too familiar set of lips pressing against his. "Stop worrying so much, dumbass," Hiyori instructs. Ichigo feels her arms wrap around his waist and he takes a deep breath, calming himself.

"C'mon, let's go before your dad or Yuzu walk in again," the girl says after awhile of standing in the middle of Ichigo's room in a naked embrace.

"I guess you're right," Ichigo replies, releasing his girlfriend and grabbing his clothes. "Although, we should probably take a shower…"

"Sure. I'll go first. You can take one after."

Feeling his heart drop slightly at hearing that, he's about to complain before receiving a very convincing sign that he shouldn't.

*_SMACK*_

…

"Hey Chad, Orihime. Where's Uryuu?" Ichigo inquires upon reaching the park. He had decided that he should explain things to them as soon as possible, and had managed to drag Hiyori along with him. It is mid-winter now, and they are all wrapped in heavy coats.

"He's grabbing me a hot chocolate. He so sweet!" Orihime replies. Ichigo is not surprised. _He finally did it, huh?_

"Well, that sounds pretty good right now. I'll be right back," he says, letting go of Hiyori, leaving her alone with the other two for the first time since their first meeting, in which she had claimed they had to die. _Ichigo, you dumbass!_

"So, Hiyori, is it? I know we've met before, but we never really got a chance to talk. So, my name is-"

"I know who you are, princess. And yes, I remember Mr. Tiger over there too," Hiyori basically spat, barely trying veil the still present envy. _Even her NAME is perfect! _

"Well, it's nice to meet you under better circumstances!" Orihime replies, not picking up on the tone of her voice. Chad, however, is not so ignorant.

"Yes, and Monkey isn't that different from Tiger, you know," Chad says in his usual mellow tone.

Hiyori just crosses her arms and puffs indignantly, agitated that she was so easy to read. "Whatever," she mutters, before Uryuu and Ichigo make their way to the table and sit down under the pavilion.

"What's got you all worked up?" Ichigo probes, receiving another puff and another mutter in return.

"Well, Ichigo, it's good to see you again," Uryuu interjects.

"Yeah, you too. Listen, guys, I'm sorry for leaving without saying anything. We didn't have time to say goodbye. If you want, I'll tell you the whole story. Just know that I'm sorry."

"There's no need. We already know everything," the Quincy says, much to the surprise of the two not quite living individuals.

"But, how did you-"

"Ask Chad. He's the one that kept us informed. He wouldn't tell us where he was getting his information from, though."

"Chad? Who were you in contact with?" Ichigo turns to his best friend. He was the last person Ichigo expected to have an informant inside the Soul Society.

"Well… Actually… She's sort of…" Chad started nervously.

Ichigo was in shock. He had never heard his friend this nervous before. Or nervous at all, for that matter. And it was a _she!?_ What was that supposed to mean? _Has Chad finally found somebody?_

"It was me," a familiar, deep yet feminine voice said from behind the group. As Ichigo turned, his jaw dropped. He turned to Chad, who looked thankfully to the source of the voice, and then to Uryuu, whose jaw was slack as well.

"Why are you so surprised? Is it seriously _that_ inconceivable?" Rukia said, her voice a little annoyed as she sat down next to her apparently more-than-friend.

"No, it's not that, it's just…" Ichigo trailed off.

Uryuu, on the other hand, let out a slight chuckle. "Funny you should choose those words."

"And why is that?" the small soul reaper raised an eyebrow.

"Well, at this point, _nothing_ seems _inconceivable_." The Quincy replied, earning an eye roll.

Orihime, who had just noticed what everyone was talking about, was a little less tactful. "RUKIA! YOU'RE PREGNANT! OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD!"

"So, the Tiger and the soul reaper, huh?" Hiyori said, unimpressed. The venom in her voice was not missed.

"Listen, Hiyori, Ichigo, I apologize for what the Soul Society has done. Just please know that I had no part in it. In fact, as soon as the fighting started, I hid out at Chad's place. I made my opposition very clear."

"I forgive you, Rukia. And I'm sure Hiyori does too," Ichigo responds, casting a meaningful glance to his girlfriend.

"What are you talking abo-"

"Hiyori, Rukia has done nothing wrong. Just let it go," Ichigo said with an air of finality.

"Whatever, dumbass," she replies, not bothering to fight with him. She knows that once he gets like this, there is no changing his mind, and she'd rather not fight with the only person that has ever caused her as much happiness as he does.

"Well, I'm glad that's settled," Ichigo says, turning to newly revealed couple. "So, Chad, Rukia when did you…"

"When did we start going out? After you left, I guess. I came here to look for you, and I ran into Chad. He tagged along, even though I told him to stay put. When I told him that I was opposing the Soul Society, he was even more insistent. It just kind of stemmed on from there," Rukia explains.

"Well, it's good to know _something_ good came out of it all. How long have you been pregnant?" Ichigo inquires.

"About 7 months. I'm glad you solved things when you did. If you hadn't, and the baby had been born… I shudder to think of what would have happened."

Ichigo's face darkens slightly at that. "You mean, what the Soul Society would have done if they had found out you were the mother of one of the fugitives' friends?"

"Yes, I mean that. Also, it would have been hard, growing up apart from either his mother or father."

"Well, don't worry. I'll vouch for you, and I'll order you to be stationed here permanently."

"Actually, Ichigo, I want to go to the Soul Society," Chad speaks up, once again surprising his friend.

"Why's that? I'd have thought you'd want to live for a little while longer," Ichigo replies, remembering his own slight disappointment at remaining 15 for the rest of his life. Or afterlife.

"Not really. I don't have anything that I really want to do in life," Chad says, extending his words to more than five for once. Then, he does something even more out of character. He _smiles_. Looking down at Rukia, his obvious love and lover, he lets a warm, happy smile grace his usually straight face.

"Well then, I'm sure it won't be a problem. Hell, with those powers of yours, you may become a Vizard!" Ichigo says, piquing Hiyori's interest for the first time in the conversation.

"What makes you think he'll become a Vizard?" she asks her boyfriend, who just gives Chad a look that said "do it".

The gentle giant the stands up and, after making sure they are alone, transforms his right arm fully.

"And? So your arm can transform to look like that of a hollow's. So what?" Hiyori asks a little indignantly.

Sighing, Chad transforms his other arm as well. With the "Giant's Right Arm" and the "Devil's Left Arm" on display, he held his left hand up, his fingers glowing.

"Wow, Chad, are you sure about that?" Ichigo asks quickly and nervously. He had seen this move before, and it was NOT pretty.

"Yeah, I've learned to control it better. It shouldn't go any farther than the snow," Chad reassures. Closing his fingers into a fist somewhat dramatically, he moves out to the snowy field and lightly taps the ground with his fist, creating an indention in the shape of a hollow's mask down to the grass, which is slightly singed. "When we were in Hueco Mundo, I learned that I have the ability to transform my left arm, as well as use the move."

Hiyori sat there, slightly impressed. "Well, I guess you do have hollow powers. It still doesn't mean you'll become a Vizard though. In fact, you could become a hollow as soon as you die!" she said, much to the horror of Ichigo and misery of Rukia.

"Yes, we know. And we are fully prepared to deal with that. As soon as Chad passes, we will have Mr. Urahara prepare to strike if necessary. I just hope that it won't come to that," explains the raven haired soul reaper.

"No, I think I should do it," Ichigo says.

"What? And why is that? Do you not think Urahara capable of such a task?" Rukia asks.

"No, but if he's the one doing the… uh… ritual… wouldn't it be better to have someone else on standby in case he can't draw his sword in time? After all, the death is immediate. Trust me, you barely feel a thing, and then it's done."

"He does have a point," Uryuu says, deciding to remind the two couples of the other one's existence.

"Yes, I suppose you're right. I suppose all we have to do now is go to Urahara Shop and perform the ritual, as you so eloquently put it," Rukia concedes.

"Well, what are we waiting for? And while we're there, we can have him make you a custom gigai like ours," Ichigo says, standing up and stretching.

….

"Are you ready?" Kisuke said earning a small grunt from the man towering over him. He then plunged the knife all the way into his chest, only the hilt sticking out from Chad's body. There was another grunt, and then a thud as the body collapsed.

Ichigo waited, Tensa Zangetsu at the ready. It was decided that in Bankai, he could deal with Chad faster, if need be. A blast of spiritual pressure sent his nerves on edge, and then a howl confirmed his fears. However, before he could plunge his zanpakuto into his friend's hollowfied face, an all too familiar yellow prism shot from an even more familiar hole in the sky.

"What the hell is a Negation doing here!?" Ichigo yells out, attacking the tractor beam. However, it is futile, and he then decides to just dash in after the retreating figure of the still hollowfying Chad.

"Ichigo! What are you doing!?" Urahara yells, trying to cut him off. Of course, he isn't quite fast enough to catch the second fastest Flash- Stepper in existence. However, the fastest can.

"Ichigo! I know that you're upset, but we have to create a plan!" Yoruichi yells, pressing her Shunko-hardened skin against Ichigo's blade.

"If we lose him now, we may never find him! I need to go after him!" And with that, he summons his hollow mask and dashes away and into the Garganta faster than Yoruichi can react.

"Dammit!" she yells as the "mouth" closes, trapping Ichigo and Chad in and everyone else out.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys, sorry it took so long! Things have been hectic since school has started back up again, and you don't even wanna know how many times I've fallen asleep trying to write this thing. Well, here you are, don't murder me, hope you enjoy! And reviews are always appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: Bleach. Not mine. **

"Great. Fuckin' great. Absofuckinglutely fantastic. FUCK!"

"Hiyori, please try to calm down, we need to-" Yoruichi, trying to salvage the situation and calm Hiyori's anger and Rukia's hysterics, says in a cautious tone.

"HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO CALM DOWN!?"

"Well, I find that taking deep breathes and counting to ten-"

"Not helping, Kisuke."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"URAHARA! OPEN THE PORTAL!"

"Listen, Hiyori, Yoruichi's right, we need to come up with a plan-"

"IF YOU WON'T OPEN THIS PORTAL RIGHT NOW, I WILL BREAK EVERY SINGLE WALL OF YOUR SHOP!"

"Right this way, Miss Sarugaki."

"Kisuke!" Yoruichi interjects from her crouched position beside a wailing Rukia.

"What?"

"You can't be serious!"

"Well, if she is, then I have to be."

"And why is that!?"

"Because by the time we get there, Ichigo will either have it all figured out or will be in need of some SERIOUS help."

"And you think that an enraged and probably more than a little psychotic midget girlfriend will offer sufficient 'help'?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Well, I suppose I can't argue with that logic EXCEPT THAT IT MAKES NO SENSE!"

"And why not? She would be the perfect incentive for Ichigo to get everything done as quickly as possible. Plus, she even knows Bankai now. I see no reason not to send her in to get Ichigo and Chad."

"HURRY UP! ARE YOU GOING TO OPEN THIS THING OR NOT!"

"Coming! Sorry Yoruichi," Urahara finishes as he Flash Steps to the now older looking wooden pillars sticking out horizontally from the wall. Yoruichi is about to chase after him, but Rukia, still in her pregnancy induced emotional fit, grabs a hold of her, sobbing into her orange sweatshirt, making Yoruichi pause and then sigh.

"Whatever."

…..

"Well, this was unexpected."

This came from Ichigo, though most could not hear the slight utterance due to his height in the room, supported by the huge marble throne in the fifth tower of Las Noches, where every arrancar and even some hollows were gathered and kneeling, heads bowed more out of fear than anything else. As soon as he had stepped through the Garganta, everybody had frozen and dropped to one knee, the only one remaining standing being him. When he had asked what the hell had been going on, they all shuddered fearfully and one arrancar had shakily raised his head. "W-well, you s-see, since you killed Lord Aizen, you s-sort of became our k-king, s-sir," he had said in a quick and timid voice.

This brings us to the present, which entails Ichigo seriously considering this offer. _I could be the master of all dimensions! _Of course, he only wanted that because he knew that he could trust himself to keep harmony in the natural order of things. However, his thought process was soon interrupted by a super-speeding, giggling mess of green hair and adorable wisps.

"ITSYGO! ITSYGO, YOU CAME BACK! I MITHED YOU, ITSYGO!"

"Hey Nel. Of course I came back. Sorry it took so long. But right now, I need to go save a friend of mine."

"Who are you saving them from this time, Itsygo?"

"Himself. Remember that big guy with the cool arms?"

"Yesh, Nel remembers him!"

"Well, he sorta became a hollow, and… well, it's a long story. But I'm here to save the day, once again. Wanna go?"

"Yesh! Nel would love to help Itsygo!"

"Great. Well, let's go then," Ichigo says, Flash Stepping his way to the base of the throne, then making his way through the crowd of incredulous onlookers. They had expected him to harm them, or enforce his rule, or SOMETHING that Aizen would have done. Never would they have thought that their new king, the only man to have defeated Aizen, would let Neliel Tu Ordesvanch, still stuck in little kid form, on his shoulders and walk straight through the crowd without the slightest hint of foul intentions or trickery. One person, however, isn't surprised in the slightest.

"Ichigo Kurosaki!" yells a familiar voice. And the memories brought up aren't pleasant ones either.

"Grimmjow, how the HELL are you alive?" Even as he says it, the punch connects with his face.

That doesn't mean it did anything though. Instead, the fist that was thrown just stops, before being clutched and brought into its owners chest, curses and threats spewing out mindlessly.

"You haven't changed at all, Grimmjow. Well, ya know, except for the not being dead part. How did that happen anyway?"

"Actually, it's kind of interesting," comes a monotone and almost deadpan voice.

"I didn't think you could get interested, Ulqiorra. So, are you gonna tell me?"

"It's simple, really. We were just stronger than the rest." That one wasn't so familiar. A dark skinned woman with blonde hair and green eyes stepped forward in the crowd as well, making it known that she was more powerful than Ulqiorra in the way she interrupted him without the slightest hesitation.

"And who the hell is she?" Ichigo is getting confused now. How were these two alive and who the hell was this woman? And could she dress any sluttier?

"When all of the Espada died at approximately the same time, a rare phenomenon occurred. In the Dangai precipice world, we all fought to see who could come back here as we were before we got in the battle that killed us.. This happens sometimes when multiple high powered beings of the same race that are connected in any way die within 24 hours of each other. This is called the Duel of Fates, and only half are allowed to live," the woman explains.

"Wait, doesn't that mean that two others should be here too?" Ichigo asks, slightly nervous at having to face Yammy and the others here all at once.

"Yes, Stark and Lilynette, the first Espada and his fraccion, are alive as well. However, they ran off when we came back here, and haven't been seen since."

"Wait, so that giant bug thing isn't here?" Ichigo asks, caution evident in his voice.

"No, that idiot died within the first minutes of the Duel," Grimmjow finally speaks up. "What the hell did you do to your body? It's like it's made of steel!"

"Thanks, it's this new workout regimen," Ichigo said sarcastically, flexing his biceps for extra measure of humiliation.

"Oh, shut the hell up! I don't know how you did it, but you're even stronger than before."

"It probably has something to do with me absorbing the Hogyoku," Ichigo says nonchalantly, knowing full well that he could take on everyone here all at once with only his spiritual pressure.

"Well, then I suppose there's no point in trying to fight you," Ulqiorra interrupts.

"Yeah, I gotta go anyways. Well, so long, I guess," Ichigo says, leaving them in the throne room. However, he soon rejoins them as a familiar sound cuts through the air.

_*SMACK*_

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, DUMBASS!?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, WHAT AM I DOING? I'M SAVING CHAD!"

"NO, YOU WERE IN HERE TALKING TO THIS HOLLOW SCUM!"

"YEAH, BUT ONLY BECAUSE THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!"

"SO WHAT!?"

"I WANTED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS GOING ON!"

This fighting commences for several minutes before a new presence is made apparent in the room by a large blast of spiritual pressure. The new arrival walks up to Ichigo, who is still too shocked to speak.

"Is that you, dumbass?" Hiyori half-yells a little indignantly.

"Chad? What happened?" Ichigo says, finally regaining his composure.

"I don't know."

"What do ya mean you don't know!? How did you become an arrancar so quickly!?"

"I don't know."

"Would ya quit saying that!?"

"Sure."

"Tell me, how much spirit energy did he have when he became a hollow?" Ulqiorra interjects.

"I dunno, more than most of these guys here I guess," Ichigo said honestly. His friend had definitely become stronger while he was gone.

"Then that is probably it. He had so much spirit energy that he skipped straight to Vasto Lorde level. What doesn't make sense is the fact that he has no sword."

"Yeah, come to think of it, why don't you have a sword, Chad?" Ichigo interrogates.

"I don't know."

"What's with that!? Why do you keep saying that!?"

"I don't know."

"GAH! I'M DONE! Let's just- let's just go home."

"Sure."

…

"Well, I would think it would be kind of obvious, really," Kisuke says to Ichigo's question. "When an arrancar's zanpakuto is made, it is actually just a piece of their soul being torn off and formed into whatever that hollow desires. Chad probably just subconsciously made his arms the seal of his power instead of a zanpakuto."

"Well, I guess that makes sense. So Chad's gonna be ok? He won't try to eat anybody or anything?"

"No, since he's an arrancar, he doesn't need to feed. If anything, he can just eat other hollows when he gets hungry."

"That's good. I guess we'd better get going then. Hiyori and I are going to go say goodbye to my family, and then we're leaving for the Soul Society."

"Ok then, but come back to us, Ichigo," Yoruichi says.

"Don't worry; I doubt that the Soul Society will make the same mistake twice. I'll be back soon enough."

"Goodbye then, Ichigo."

"Yeah. Oh and Chad?"

"Yeah?" the giant responds.

"I need to talk to you. In private," Ichigo says, pointing out to the hall way.

"What did you want to talk about?"

It's about the hollows. They want me to be their king, but I'm already becoming the Spirit King. I was wondering, since you're now an arrancar and could easily whoop any of their asses, if you wanted to be king."

"I don't know. Would I have to stay there?"

"Probably not. They seemed to be just fine for five years. Just check in on them every once in a while."

"Ok, I'll do it."

"Thanks Chad. Let's go back in. I'm sure our women are dying to know what we're talking about."

And he was right. As soon as they reentered the room, they were bombarded with questions by a pregnant Rukia and annoyed Hiyori, which wasn't pleasant, seeing as they were never given the opportunity to speak between questions and therefore unable to answer, making both women angrier by the second.

"Alright, enough of that! Just stop asking questions and I'll explain!" Ichigo finally got out, silencing the two. After he explained, he quickly assured Rukia that nothing would change between her and Chad to avoid further questions and yelling.

"So, you just gave him the throne of Hueco Mundo? Just like that?" Hiyori inquired.

"Yeah. Now he's just gotta go and tell them. Well, now that that's settled, we'll be going. C'mon Hiyori, let's go say goodbye to the family."

This stopped Hiyori. She didn't know why, but the fact that he didn't say 'my family', but instead included her in 'the family' made her heart soar. So, instead of arguing any further, she just absently said "Bye" and left under Ichigo's arm, a dumb smile threatening to come across her face. But she wouldn't let it go THAT far.

…

"Goodbye Ichigo!" Yuzu says, wrapping her arms around her brother's waist along with her twin.

"You better come back this time," she said lowly into his chest.

"Don't worry; I plan to. I won't disappear again. I promise."

"I doubt they'll try to do anything stupid this time, so you'll have no excuse if you don't," Isshin says, his hand on his son's shoulder.

"If he tries skipping out again, I'll drag his ass back here!" Hiyori says, no longer feeling awkward around these types of conversations with his family.

"Good, that should scare him enough to come back," Isshin jokes back.

"I won't need to be scared back, I'll probably be begging to come home," Ichigo assures his sisters.

"Well, I believe you have somewhere to be. Take care of yourself and good luck," Isshin says, bringing Ichigo in for a group hug.

"Thanks. I'll probably need it."

After a few moments, they break up the hug, and Hiyori opens the Senkaimon. They step through, and Ichigo looks back one last time over his shoulder.

"Goodbye for now."


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok, FINALLY! I AM FINALLY POSTING ANOTHER CHAPTER FOR THIS! YOU'RE WELCOME! I just needed a little inspiration is all, I suppose. Well, this should tickle your fancies long enough for me to write something else. Onwards!**

**Disclaimer: Bleach ain't mine, otherwise Kenpachi would probably learn that Ichigo knew what he was doing when he and Zangetsu kicked his ass.**

As Ichigo steps through the giant gate known as the Senkaimon, something unexpected, but not totally unusual, happens to be waiting to occur on the other side.

"ICHIGO! IT'S TIME TO FIGHT!" comes the booming and fear-inspiring voice of Kenpachi Zaraki, Captain of Squad Eleven.

"Whoa! Kenpachi! What the hell!" Ichigo yells, dodging the powerful, lightning-enhanced strikes.

"Kenny got Bankai! Ichi, Kenny got Bankai! Now you have to fight him!" Yachiru yells from behind Ichigo and Hiyori.

"Wait, seriously? Kenpachi! When the hell did you get Bankai!?" Ichigo yells in interrogation.

"Just this morning! Now, let's have that fight you promised!" Kenpachi answer, pure glee lining his voice in that creepy Kenpachi sorta way.

"Just hold on!" Ichigo protests, but it's no use; Kenpachi isn't stopping for anything.

"Not a chance! You promised me a fight when I got Bankai, now I expect you to make good on it!"

"Fine!" Ichigo yells, pulling Zangetsu from his back and blocking Kenpachi's zanpakuto with it. "But on one condition! If I win, then you approve of me becoming Spirit King!"

"Fine with me! Now let's do this!"

And so, the duel between the powerhouses starts. First, Kenpachi swings his lightning-charged sword at Ichigo's head, but it's blocked by Ichigo's Tensa Zangetsu, already transformed into Bankai and shrouded in the black energy of a Getsuga Tensho. This causes Kenpachi's blade to be blown backwards by the force, and Kenpachi is flung along with it. He hits a wall, and then steps out of it like nothing even happened.

"So, you're not putting on that armor of yours this time?" Kenpachi inquires.

"Not until I need it. Last time I was in a hurry. But now, I'm planning on having a little fun!" Ichigo yells in response, charging up another Getsuga. He fires it, and Kenpachi reciprocates with an arc of electricity, and the two collide in mid-air. However, instead of one swallowing the other, they just keep pushing at each other, a battle of pure power.

However, as it seems that Kenpachi's may be getting the slight upper hand, Ichigo fires another, slightly less powerful Getsuga at the first, which absorbs it and adds its power to its own. Then, it swallows Kenpachi's attack, once again adding the electrical properties of the arc.

As it approaches Kenpachi, however, the man just smiles. Then, he raises his zanpakuto up and says one word. And this one word, when spoken by this man, is the sign that ultimate amounts of badassery are about to start oozing out of the surrounding area.

"Bankai."

…

_Hmm, I wonder where Rukia could be. Oh yes, I remember now. She and Ichigo should be arriving anytime now. I'd better go and meet them _Juushiro Ukitake thinks. He starts to head towards the Senkaimon, not in any real rush. As such, he decides that since he is the farthest away and has to pass by all of the Squads on the way, he'd may as well gather them all to the Senkaimon to welcome the new arrivals.

…

As the fight rages on, 22 heads turn from left to right, observing the damage. Some are enraged, others slightly worried. Four are slightly impressed, two slightly annoyed. And one is brimming with enjoyment.

"What is the meaning of this?" Head Captain Yamamoto asks, his voice slightly angry as usual when regarding Ichigo Kurosaki and/or Kenpachi Zaraki.

"Well, sir, it would seem as though Captain Zaraki and Ichigo are hashing it out right about now," Shunsui offers.

"That much is evident! What I am wondering is why they are doing it right in front of the Senkaimon!"

"Oh. Right. Well Rukia? Got any answers?"

"Well, Captain Zaraki was waiting in ambush as soon as we got back," Rukia responds while in a sort of awe-struck trance.

"Oh. Well, that explains it," Juushiro says, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And we just got the repairs finished yesterday too. Goddammit."

"C-captain!? Are you alright!?" Rukia asks, snapped out of her reverie by her Captain's sudden usage of foul language.

"I'd leave him alone for now if I were you, Rukia. He only cusses when he's really annoyed," Shunsui warns her in a whisper.

"Right."

"It's a wonder how they're causing so much damage though."

"That's the truth," Rangiku says in the tone she uses when she's serious.

"Mm," was all that was offered by Chad, a sure sign that he too was in awe of how much destruction the two were making.

"That dumbass! When is he gonna finish it!?" Hiyori asks no one in particular.

"Kenny's really strong now, way stronger than the last time they fought! This time he and Ichi will have some real fun!" Yachiru informs Hiyori.

"This is nonsense! This is chaos! This is-" Captain Hitsugaya's outburst is interrupted by boobs. Boobs in his face, that is.

"I wouldn't finish that line if I were you, Captain. Wouldn't want you to get kicked down any holes now, would we?" Rangiku says, smothering her Captain in her cleavage.

"More than likely, this is Kenpachi's favor for his vote to elect Ichigo as Spirit King," Shunsui says as Toshiro starts yelling at Rangiku about the enormous amount of blood now spilling from his nose being her fault.

"Well, I suppose it can't be helped. We should all start thinking of our own favors too, Captain Unohana says.

"Very well. I shall let them finish their duel. But then he shall be immediately put through each of our assignments!" Yamamoto declares.

However, the duel does not look as though it shall end any time soon. Kenpachi's Bankai breaks his sword down into electricity and makes a new one made purely of the stuff, condensed to the pointing that one blow equals the explosive force of a nuclear warhead. Kenpachi's spiritual pressure surrounds him, only it now has a lightning-like quality to it. Most people would be dead by coming within just a few feet, but Ichigo is keeping his ground.

By this time, Ichigo is fully transformed. His armor covers his whole body and his mask is missing a part of it, a sign of Ichigo being at about 80% charge. The two are trading blows, hacking and slashing, blocking and cutting, sweeping and swiping.

After a while though, Kenpachi feels as though he should go all out. He puts both hands on his sword of lightning and swings downwards in a perfect kendo stance, the power jarring Ichigo's whole body. Then the electricity is dumped into him, as are all of Kenpachi's blows while in Bankai. Ichigo takes the shock, thinking that it won't sting anymore than the others will. But, with Kenpachi's added strength, the electrical pulse is large enough to cause Ichigo to seize up and fall to the ground, twitching slightly.

"Dammit! Looks like I'll have to use it…" Ichigo mutters to himself once the convulsing stops. Then, he attacks; only this time, he attacks himself.

"Well, since you're going all out now, I suppose it's only polite for me to do the same!" Ichigo yells, plunging Tensa Zangetsu into his own chest. An explosion of spiritual pressure occurs, and everyone who isn't a captain or Hiyori and Chad is forced to the ground until the wave passes, and even Yamamoto is having trouble remaining on his feet.

Training with his inner hollow gave Ichigo a crap ton of strength and speed, but it also came with a new technique. And it is guaranteed to kick ass.

When the dust clears, you can practically hear the cheesy 80's music in the background. Ichigo's armor is now completely black, as well as his hair, which has grown to his knees in length. His eyes have turned red, and his mouth is covered in cloth.

"Kenpachi, I'm sorry. It's kind of over now. Ya see, last night I met with my hollow, and he told me of a way he could influence the Final Getsuga so that I could use it and not lose my powers, since he and Zangetsu practically share the same body. This is the form that pretty much obliterated Aizen. The only reason he's still alive is because he's immortal. But, you're not, and you'll pass out when I hit you," Ichigo explains, raising Tensa Zangetsu into the sky.

"One final attack, then?" Kenpachi asks, pointing his own weapon towards the sky.

"Yeah. Make sure you put everything you've got into it."

And with that, both weapons are brought down, releasing attacks that would make Aizen himself weep in his sleep. When they collide, Kenpachi's actually starts to overtake Ichigo's immediately. However, Ichigo puts the rest of his power into the attack, having stopped his blade halfway to see if he needs more. As it turns out, he does, and so he uses the rest of the built up energy.

Kenpachi's whole word goes black, but he hasn't passed out; he's just surrounded by the attack. His attack has long since vanished in the sea of darkness. He now realizes that he never stood a chance. He may survive this attack, but only because Ichigo is letting him. However, he is not mad or angry. He is content. He has finally found someone who can give him a good fight whenever he wants, and now he has a goal to work up towards. It'll give him something to do during the time that he should be doing his paperwork.

But that's what he has Yumichika for.

…

As Ichigo raises his head, he feels a pain shoot through it. His vision is blurred and his limbs feel heavy. He attempts to look at the being on his left, but only manages to deduce that it is bald and very, VERY pissed.

"Ichigo Kurosaki! Why have you destroyed the area surrounding the Senkaimon!?" the booming voice of the Head Captain lets Ichigo know that he is in some deep shit. Oh, and that he can't really handle loud noises yet.

"Wha-? What happened? Where am I?" Ichigo tries playing dumb, but the person on his right won't allow it.

"Ichigo, please don't pretend that you are injured. You merely passed out as a result of using the full extent of your power. Please, don't insult my expertise," the passive yet terrifying voice of Captain Unohana penetrates his mind pleasantly, a welcome relaxant of Yamamoto's yelling. Then, Ichigo realizes that he shouldn't feel soothed at all by that voice.

"C-captain Unohana! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! I swear!" Ichigo jumps up and starts bowing in apology at the woman's feet.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, you shall immediately begin the repair of the Senkaimon Entrance! After that, I will cast my vote to your kingship," the Head Captain interjects.

"But I thought I already had your vote!" Ichigo says exasperatedly.

"That was before you destroyed the Senkaimon Entrance for the second time in as many days."

"He does have a point there," the voice of a certain red-headed lieutenant catches Ichigo's attention.

"Renji! What are you doing here?" Ichigo asks.

"My captain was too busy to tell you himself, so he sent me here to tell you what he's gonna have you do for his vote. You are to complete the Soul Reaper Academy's Final Exam. You have three days to train." And with that, he leaves, off to catch another, silver-haired lieutenant on her way home.

"That's great. Well, I guess I better get started on the repairs then," Ichigo sighs, reluctantly walking towards the door, only to be sent flying back into it by an awaiting piece of footwear.

_*SMACK*_

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, DUMBASS!? YOU CAN'T GO AROUND DOING ANYTHING YOU WANT! NEXT TIME, ASK PERMISSION BEFORE YOU RUN OFF AND GET THE CRAP BEATEN OUT OF YOU!" Hiyori yells, soaring through the room after her beloved.

"Actually, Ichigo sustained little to no damage," Unohana tried explaining, but was ignored.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were worried about me," Ichigo says coolly, before receiving a volley of punishment and pain.

_*SMACK SMACK SMACKSMACKSMACKSMACK*_

"DUMBASS! OF COURSE I'M NOT!"

"Of course not. Well, I've got a Senkaimon to go clean up. See ya," Ichigo gives a short wave before Flash Stepping as fast as he can away from the hospital before Unohana can start to get annoyed.

…

3 days later, Ichigo is standing across from Byakuya Kuchiki, all assholery included.

"Hado number four, Byakurai!" Surprisingly, the flash of white lightning comes from Ichigo, though it is a bit less controlled than Byakuya's. Ichigo has already passed to sword-fighting, hand-to-hand combat and Flash Step test with flying colors, and the only one left is Kido.

"That was pathetic, Ichigo Kurosaki. In order to pass, you must demonstrate the highest level kido you can perform," Byakuya says, blocking the attack easily.

"Alright then! After I do this, I'm done! _Oh ye lord, mask of flesh and blood, all creations of the universe, fluttering of wings, ye who bears the name of man! Truth and temperance, strike but slightly your claw upon this wall which feigns ignorance of sin._ Hado number 33, Sokatsui!"

The blue fire erupts from Ichigo's outstretched palm and lunges at Byakuya, who blocks, but with quite a bit more difficulty than before.

"Alright. Now Bakudo," Byakuya says, not showing any emotion, as usual.

Ichigo, already sweating from using the previous kido (he never really was that good at it), calms his breathing and points at Byakuya. He smirks, mainly because of the fact that, while he may be about to use the weakest Bakudo there is, it does bring back memories.

"Bakudo number one, Sai!" Ichigo yells, swiping his finger to the right, causing Byakuya to smirk. _Ignorant fool. Does he really believe he can affect me with such a weak kido? _Then, he falls to his knees, his hands behind his back. Of course, he breaks free almost immediately, but not without some effort.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, you truly are a disgrace. However, even though that was the weakest possible kido you could use, you did so well. You pass." And with that, the noble Kuchiki is gone, leaving with whatever is left of his dignity after being bested by the lowest level kido by a guy who can barely use kido.

"Well, now that that's done, time to go see what else I've got to do," Ichigo mutters to himself as he Flash Steps towards the Second Squad's barracks. _May as well go in order. _

…

10 hours later, Ichigo is finally coming up to rest upon the Tenth Squad's barracks' door. Soi Fon was persuaded by Ichigo calling in a favor from Yoruichi to take her away to the human world for a day, just the two of them. All of the Vizards, who had already been appointed their old positions except for Love, seeing as Captain Komamura was quite adamant about keeping the position, where voting for him, so Squads 3, 5 and 9 aren't a problem.

Unohana merely requested that he start paying for a room to be rented from her Squad's barracks in case he gets into another fight. Komamura had asked him to keep Yachiru from him for a couple of hours, merely wanting some peace and quiet for a while. Shunsui requested that the two men drink, and invited both Nanao and Lisa, who refused immediately, claiming they had actual work to do.

Now he was coming to get Toshiro's request, and he could only wonder what it was. Toshiro didn't seem the type to ask any favors, and he always had some sort of free time, so he probably got all of his paperwork done rather quickly, despite his lieutenant being extremely lazy.

As he walks into Toshiro's office, he notices two things. One is the sleeping form of Rangiku on the couch, as usual. The other, though, is the sad, almost depressed looking Toshiro sitting at his desk with his head in his hands.

"Hey, umm, Toshiro?" Ichigo asks cautiously, not sure how to act in this situation.

Startled, Toshiro regains his composure. "Y-yes, Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"Listen, I was just coming by to see what it would take to get you to vote for me becoming king. Is everything alright?" The fact that Toshiro didn't correct Ichigo on his lack of disrespect lets him know that whatever the young captain is going through must be serious.

"Yes, everything is fine," Toshiro responds, and then pauses. "Actually, umm, Ichigo? There IS something you can do for me," he adds, somewhat timidly, which surprises Ichigo to no end.

"Sure, what is it?" Ichigo asks, always eager to help a friend in distress.

"Well, it's Karin. She hates me. I was just wondering if you could talk to her. I think you're the only person that can get her to listen."

Ichigo sighs. "So that's what it is, huh? Well, listen to me: I can do it, but I promise you that it would be better if you went. It may hurt at first, and she may beat the living crap out of you. But just stand there and take it, and eventually she'll calm down enough to listen to you."

"How can you be so sure? What if she-"

"You'll never know unless you try. But if you were to be the one to talk to her about it, it will definitely boost your chances. She isn't interested in people who need others to talk for her."

"Wha-? Just wait a minute! It's nothing like that!"

"Of course it isn't. Well, see ya Toshiro, and good luck." And with the swish of a Flash Step, he's gone, off to the horrors of Squad Twelve.

"Thank you, Ichigo."

…

Ichigo stumbles out of the Squad Twelve labs, counting to make sure that his fingers and toes are all attached in their original positions. More than slightly nauseous, he decides that after his final stop, he is going to stop by Squad Four and see if there's any lasting damage to having most of your internal organs removed, examined and then shoved back into your body. In all realty, he hadn't had much of a choice in the matter; as soon as he had stepped through the door Nemu had caught him off guard with spirit energy-sealing handcuffs.

"Rukia, are you sure you're alright? You know you can start your maternal leave anytime now, right?" Ichigo hears a concerned sounding Captain Ukitake.

"Nonsense, I'm fine. I won't leave my captain's side until I can no longer stand," Rukia argues, just before Ichigo walks in.

"Hey, Juushiro? I was coming to get that request from you. So, what do you want me do?" Ichigo inquires.

"Oh, Ichigo. Good to see you again! I assume that you have already repaired the damage done to the Senkaimon Entrance?" Juushiro answers with a question.

"Uh, yeah, the old man had me do that. So, anything else? Got any annoying midgets that need bed rest but are too stubborn to stay home?"

"Wha-? Ichigo! How dare you!? I am perfectly fine, thank you very much!" Rukia protests.

"Actually, that would be fine with me. If you can see that she makes it home safely, I'll cast my vote for you," Juushiro replies thankfully, relieved that his pregnant lieutenant will be getting home safely.

"Sure thing. C'mon, midget, Chad's probably waiting. Don't wanna worry him, do you?"

"Ichigo! Put me down! I am not some toy, nor am I your bride! I am pregnant and shouldn't be shaken around by your clumsy Flash Steps! PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!" Rukia's screeches and Ichigo's laughter disappear into the night.

"Looks like things are finally settling down," Juushiro says once in the quiet of solitude.

…

"Ichigo! I can walk! Put me down!" after a couple of Flash Steps Ichigo obeys and puts Rukia down.

"Sorry, just needed to get you far enough away so that you couldn't run back in and cast some sort of barrier or something to keep me out," Ichigo says, rubbing the back of his head.

"Whatever," Rukia replies, still slightly annoyed that she is being forcibly returned home.

"Hey, Rukia?" Ichigo asks as the two start the walk towards Rukia and Chad's quarters.

"What? She snaps, then asks in a softer tone, "What is it, Ichigo?" when she hears the innocent curiosity in his voice.

"I was just wondering," he starts, pausing to formulate his words, "What if… what if I had never met Hiyori, and you had never met Chad? What would've happened if it had been just us?"

"What do you mean? Are you suggesting that we may have-"

"That's what I'm wondering. Is it really that farfetched? I mean, I had never really thought about it. Love and all, I mean. In fact, when I did, it just so happened to hit me in the face," he laugh, thinking of the girl he had finally fallen for. "But what if Hiyori wasn't here? Or Chad? What if we were alone when all of this was done?"

"Honestly? I don't know. I mean, I'd always sort of liked you," Rukia admits, looking away and blushing. "I'm sure I would have said something eventually. But what about you?"

"I probably would've said yes. But do you think that we could really have had a happy life together? Luck doesn't really seem to be on our side most of the time."

"True, but I'm sure we would've made it work, what with your pig-headedness," Rukia says, flashing a smirk. "Not that I would trade this life for anything. I love Chad, truly. You and I were just never meant to be, Ichigo."

"Yeah, same here. Hiyori was always the one meant for me, I just had to get slapped a few times to notice it. Well, we're here. Guess I'm gonna go head home. Goodnight, Rukia."

"Goodnight, Ichigo."


	15. Chapter 15

Ichigo blinks his eyes open and takes in his environment, remembering what all happened the day before as he recognizes the Edo era Japanese room. He quickly takes a mental check to make sure that nothing has changed overnight due to Mayuri's… procedures. After he is satisfied, he looks down to the beautiful angel in his embrace and smiles. _Soon, there will be nothing that can harm her._

Today is the day that everyone casts their votes, and the day that he will become king. He doesn't really care too much about the throne itself, only the protection that it'll offer his girlfriend. _A lot of changes are going to be made today._

Ichigo kisses the top of Hiyori's head and she snuggles farther into his chest. Ichigo smiles and wraps his arms tighter around her, pulling her in. He feels her stir and turn around to face him, and as soon as she does he plants a kiss on her lips, capturing them completely. She returns the kiss whole-heartedly and allows passage into her mouth for Ichigo's tongue. After a minute or two, the couple part, contenting themselves with staying close to one another.

"I think we should probably get up," Ichigo says after a couple of minutes just lying there in each other's embrace.

"I don't wanna," Hiyori says stubbornly.

"Hiyori, there's an important event going on soon, and I've kinda got to be there!"

"Not if I say you don't."

"Hiyori, if you behave yourself, then I'll let you have your way later," Ichigo offers, sighing slightly at the thought of using sex as a bargaining chip.

"Oh, you'll LET me, will you?" Hiyori asks, sitting up partially to look down on Ichigo. This was a mistake, because Ichigo rolls her over and stands up quickly before she can latch onto him again.

"Yes, but only if you behave."

"Whatever, dumbass."

…

The captains all stand in two rows, the Head Captain at, well, the head. Ichigo stands outside of the giant doors to the meeting hall with Hiyori, waiting for the vote. For once, it is quiet within the captains' meeting, and Ichigo takes this to mean that the decision is unanimous. He just hopes that it's in the positive.

As Ichigo waits, some of the lieutenants approach him. Yachiru bounces over, Ikkaku in tow, his scowl a little less intense than usual. Rangiku and Shuuhei walk towards him together, and Rangiku's robe is a little more… concealing than usual. Renji is tugging along a timid Isane, encouraging her. Rukia, of course, is walking beside Chad, newly clad in soul reaper robes, his gold pendant on the outside.

"Hey, Ichigo, how's it going?" Renji asks.

"Pretty good actually. I'm just waiting for the meeting to be over," Ichigo replies.

"Wait, they're actually in there?" Rangiku asks in wonder.

"Umm, yeah. Why wouldn't they be?"

"Well, it's just that… they're so quiet…"

"That is rather strange," Rukia says. "Maybe they're all voting for you."

"Then why in the hell are they taking so long!?" Hiyori snaps grumpily.

"Hiyori, we had an agreement," Ichigo warns, to which Hiyori just grunts.

"What kind of agreement?" Yachiru inquires innocently.

"That's really not important," Ichigo says quickly, sweat forming on his brow.

"Yeah Ichigo, what is it?" Ikkaku joins in, sensing that it's something that might be able to inspire a fight in Ichigo.

"Well, Ichigo? Are you going to tell us?" And Renji proves that once a Squad Eleven member, always a Squad Eleven member.

"I said it was nothing!" Ichigo yell, thrusting his forehead into both Renji's and Ikkaku's.

"Oh really? Wanna fight about it!?" Ikkaku and Renji challenge, thrusting back.

"Will you guys knock it off?" Shuuhei asks, slightly annoyed at the display.

"Oh yeah? You wanna fight too?" the two challengers turn towards Shuuhei.

"Maybe I do!"

"Then let's fight!"

"Reap-"

"Roar-"

"Extend-"

"Ban-"

Just as the release commands are being spoken, the grand doors to the captains' meeting hall open, revealing all thirteen captains standing just within them.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Yamamoto bellows angrily.

"Well, you see old man; we were just kind of-"

"Not you," Yamamoto looks as though the next words burn like the devil's piss coming out of his mouth, "your majesty. I was talking to the ingrates who are committing treason of the highest form."

"Wait, what did you just call me?" Ichigo asks absentmindedly.

"He said: your majesty, dumbass," Hiyori informs him.

"Thanks for the info," he replies sarcastically.

"Hey, you asked."

"Any way, this wasn't treason, we were just… uh… discussing some… things…?"

Yamamoto does not look impressed, but does not press the issue. "Very well. Your official crowning shall take place tomorrow."

"Sure," Ichigo replies.

The captains then disperse, most giving their congratulations, others just passing by with a respectful nod.

"So, what was that agreement?" Renji asks.

"Nothing, now stop asking about it," Ichigo replies shortly.

"Why don't you make me?"

"Actually, I can now," Ichigo reminds him.

"Oh, yeah…." Renji remembers.

"But I wanna know what kind of agreement they have!" Yachiru whines. Then, Rangiku whispers something into her ear.

"OH MY GOSH IKKAKU LET'S MAKE A DEAL!"

"Rangiku! What did you tell her!?" Ichigo yells.

"Oh, just that Hiyori's gonna get all the sugar she wants tonight," Rangiku replies innocently.

"Rangiku!"

"What? It's true."

"Still!"

"Look who's acting out now," Hiyori mutters.

"Shut up! I get to act out! I'm king!"

"Oh really? Then does that make me the queen?"

"Well, not really," Rukia interjects. "You two aren't married, after all."

"Oh yeah. And why is that, I wonder?" Hiyori growls in Ichigo's direction. However, Ichigo is no longer there, having Flash Stepped away mere seconds prior.

…

_That was close. Dammit, Rukia! Why would you bring that up! _Ichigo thinks as he pauses to catch his breath. Then he feels a familiar presence behind him and curses his luck as he turns around. "Yoruichi."

"Hey there, Ichigo. Congratulations," Yoruichi says.

"Yeah, thanks," Ichigo replies. Then, he gets an idea. "Hey, Yoruichi?"

"What is it, Ichigo?"

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, as long as Kisuke's willing to pay for it."

"Well, you see, tomorrow I'll be heading off to the Royal Dimension, and I want to take Hiyori with me, but-"

"You're afraid that since you aren't married she won't be allowed to enter?"

"Yeah. So, I was wondering if you guys could hold the ceremony. I mean, if you can't then it's cool, I get it, I just thought that-"

"It's fine, Ichigo. We'll do it. Just make sure she says yes before tonight," Yoruichi says with a smirk as she Flash Steps off to tell Kisuke to get ready.

_Great, now I've just got to ask. But how the hell am I supposed to do that?_ Ichigo pulls out the small black box containing his mother's ring. He had talked to his dad about it before he had left, and Isshin had told him to take it and use it well.

Lost in his own thoughts, he completely misses the feeling of Rangiku creeping up behind him. "What's that?" she asks, her face right beside his. Ichigo jumps twenty feet in the air and closes the box quickly, shoving it inside his robes.

"N-nothing! Don't sneak up on me like that!" he yells.

"Oh, Ichigo are you planning to propose!? That's so sweet!" Rangiku exclaims.

"Jeez, will you quiet down!? I don't want all of the Soul Society to know!" Ichigo whispers harshly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. So, when are you planning on popping the question?" Rangiku inquires.

"Tonight, and hopefully we'll be married by tomorrow," Ichigo replies.

"Oh, right, because of the whole 'Royal Dimension' thing," Rangiku says thoughtfully. "But you'd better make it romantic!"

"Yeah, I'm working on it."

"Well, good luck!"

…

"So, Hiyori, are you going to the party?" Rukia asks the blonde-haired girl.

"What party?" Hiyori questions, slightly annoyed that she wasn't told of such an event.

"Wait, so you mean you didn't know? A bunch of us were going to have a party for Ichigo being elected Spirit King. I just assumed you knew," Rukia explains.

"No, I wasn't told anything about it," Hiyori replies, cracking her knuckles. "So tell me, who's throwing it?"

"Well, it was Renji and Ikkaku's idea. I suspect they just want a reason to get drunk and act like idiots again," Rukia theorizes.

"Probably. So, where are they now?"

"Probably getting a head start in the World of the Living. They wanted to have the party there because apparently human booze tastes better."

"I'll be right back."

"Wait! Hiyori, shouldn't you probably get Ichigo to go to the World of the Living first? It's a surprise, so don't ruin it," Rukia says in an attempt to prevent a genocide of drunken idiots.

"Fine. What time is the party?"

"In a couple of hours, but you might want to find him first."

"Whatever."

…

As Ichigo sits in silence in the only place he can find it, dwelling on his own thoughts of how he plans to propose to the best thing that ever happened to his life, he quickly becomes aware that he is no longer sitting in silence. In fact, in the span of about two seconds, the room has become utter chaos. And all of it is caused by one person.

"Miss Sarugaki, you can't be in here!" a male soul reaper yells.

"Shut up, dumbass! I'm here for my dumbass!"

"I hope you don't mean the king-" another starts.

"King or not, he's still a dumbass!"

"Hiyori! What are you doing in here!?" Ichigo yells.

"I should be asking you the same question! Hiding in the bathroom? Real mature, dumbass!"

"Listen, it's not that I'm hiding, it's just-"

"Shut up, dumbass! You're coming with me!"

"Wait, Hiyori-!"

…

"Hiyori, what are we doing here?" Ichigo asks as he is being pulled down the street by his girlfriend.

"Shut up! You'll see, dumbass!" she responds.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, snaggletooth!?"

"Don't call me snaggletooth, dumbass!"

"Don't call me dumbass, snaggletooth!"

"Shut up and get inside before I throw you in!" Hiyori demands, pointing at the old warehouse.

"Wait, isn't this the old hideout? Hiyori, what are you-" Seconds later, Ichigo goes sailing through the door.

"I told you, dumbass!"

"Goddammit woman! I was just asking a question!"

"And I told you to shut up! Now shut up and enjoy your party, dumbass!"

"Quit calling me dumbass, snaggle- wait, what party?"

"Surprise?" the group of people waiting for Ichigo's arrival says as the view the situation.

"A party? For me?" Ichigo asks in bewilderment.

"Yeah, wanted to congratulate you on becoming the Spirit King!" Renji says with the slight accent of a beer-induced soul reaper.

"In other words, we just wanted to get drunk," Ikkaku added, his slur slightly worse.

"Thanks, guys, but you didn't have to-"

"Just shut up and enjoy your party," Rukia interrupts him.

"So, who's all here?" Ichigo asks.

"Everyone but the captains and some of the lieutenants. After all, we can't just have all of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads just up and leave to the World of the Living," Rukia tells him.

"Well, I'm glad you all came. Thanks for this, guys!" Ichigo calls out to everybody, and thus signals the party to commence. This pretty much just means everybody grabs the nearest bottle and starts downing the contents, except for the few who are unable or unwilling. Surprisingly, Ichigo is one of these few.

"No thanks, I've got some important things to do later," he says when someone offers him a drink.

"You know, Ichigo, I could give you a couple of Urahara's Instant Sobering Pills free of charge, if you like," Kisuke says.

"Really? Thanks, I'll take two. Thanks, Kisuke," Ichigo says, relieved that he now has a way to get Hiyori in the mind to answer his question. Plus, with the extra one, he now gets proceeds to drink a bit more than necessary.

"Ya know, I weally love you guyths," he says, the slur in his voice only comprehensible to his other drunken friends.

"We love ya too, man," Renji manages to say through his drunken stupor.

"Oh, Renji, I almost forgot! Tag!" Ichigo says slowly, careful to pronounce each word correctly before attempting to run and, just like last time, falling flat on his face. And Renji, just like last time, keeps the chase going.

"Get back here, you dangy mog!" he yells, his voice fading as he corrects himself on the run.

Ichigo, now on the floor, lays there for a while, his eyes becoming heavy. He figures that if he is to fall asleep, the floor's a good a place as any to do so. He's sure no one will step on him… on purpose…

_Wait, wasn't I going to do something? Hmm…. Let's see… I had that meeting… I talked to Yoruichi about the wedding… that should be about it… wait… wedding… I need to… OH YEAH!_

Ichigo's eyes snap open and he fumbles in his pocket a bit for one of the pills that Urahara gave him. He finds it, takes it, and feels its effect almost immediately.

"Thanks, Kisuke," he mutters as he grabs the other one and starts searching for Hiyori. It isn't that hard, considering she isn't really a quiet drunk and he soon finds her. That's the easy part though, because he still has get her to take the Sober Pill and then get her alone long enough to ask her to marry him. _Why does this have to be so hard?_

"Hey, dumbass, get me another one of those bottles," Hiyori calls out to Ichigo, her voice barely understandable.

"Not right now, Hiyori, I need you to take this," Ichigo says, attempting to place the pill in her mouth.

"No! I don' wanna!" Hiyori refuses, turning to run away.

"Hiyori, get back here! I need to ask you a question!"

"No! Go away, dumbass!"

Ichigo finally decides that it would just be easier to trick a drunken Hiyori than force feed her. So, he puts the pill in his mouth, Flash Steps in front of her, picks her up in his arms and plants a long, sensual kiss right on the girl's lips. Hiyori returns the kiss eagerly, and Ichigo's tongue, wrapped around the pill, enters her mouth. He takes a moment to let her drop her defenses, then shoves the pill down her throat with his tongue and backs up before she can pull her fang down on him.

"What the hell, dumbass!?" Hiyori, fully sober, yells between coughs.

"Sorry, but I need you sober right now," Ichigo says before grabbing her arm and Flash Stepping to the only place nearby that could possibly hold any romantic memories for them.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, dumbass!?" Hiyori yells in righteous indignation.

"Hiyori, calm down! I need to ask you a serious question!" Ichigo attempts to set the mood right.

"What is it?" Hiyori snaps.

Ichigo can tell that he still needs to get her in the right mindset. "Do you remember this place?"

Hiyori looks around and notices that they are on a very familiar cliff, and dozens of memories flood into her mind; memories of them cuddling, memories of their first time. She blushes slightly and her nerves calm down a bit. "Yeah."

"Remember all the good times we had here? All the sunrises, all the hours spent doing nothing but sitting here with each other?" Ichigo is pretty much just trying whatever he can think of, regardless of how cheesy it may be.

"Yeah, I remember, now what were you going to ask?" Hiyori asks, growing slightly impatient.

"Hiyori, I love you, and I want to be with you for all eternity. I want you to become my queen." Ichigo pulls the box out of his robes, gets on one knee and presents the ring, its simple yet elegant diamond set on a white gold band. "Will you marry me?"

Hiyori is shocked out of all impatience and annoyance she previously had growing inside of her. All the hate, all the anger, it's all gone. The only thing on her mind right now is the ring in front of her and the man presenting it. That being said, it's easy to understand why she just stands there with a shocked expression on her face for a couple of seconds.

Ichigo worries that he may have asked wrong, or that it wasn't romantic enough. He's about to close the box when he hears a choked response. He looks up and sees Hiyori's face doing something that barely anybody sees; she is smiling widely, no hint of anger or sadness in her features, her eyes overflowing with tears of joy. She has been waiting for somebody to do something like this for so long, and finally, her wish is granted.

"Yes!" she exclaims happily, causing Ichigo to crack a smile of his own, releasing a huge sigh of relief. They come together for a long, passionate kiss, and they break away, keeping their foreheads pressed together, their arms wrapped around each other.

"Well done, Ichigo," Yoruichi says, suddenly appearing before the happy couple.

"Thanks. I suppose you'll be needing Hiyori now?" Ichigo guesses.

"Yeah. C'mon, there's some things you have to choose from, then we can get started," Yoruichi tells Hiyori. At first the girl refuses to leaves Ichigo's embrace, but at the mention of the wedding dress, she instantly detaches and leaves with Yoruichi.

"So, you finally did it, huh?" Rukia asks, coming up on Ichigo with Chad following behind her.

"Yeah," Ichigo replies, his wide smile still fixed on his face. "Hey, Chad, could I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, go ahead." The gentle giant has refrained from getting too drunk, but has consumed some alcohol, so his words flow a bit more than usual.

"Listen, I'm sorry for dumping this on you a couple of hours before the wedding, but could you be my best man?" Ichigo asks.

"Sure, but I'm not sure how good the speech will be."

"Oh, don't worry about that; I've already got one for you. I knew Ichigo would wait until the last possible second, and it's obvious he would choose you. Here," Rukia says, pulling a sheet of paper from the separate dimension in her robe.

"Thanks Rukia," Ichigo says appreciatively. "Oh and Chad, makes sure you cross out anything to do with Chappy the Rabbit," he adds in a whisper.

"I _heard _that, Ichigo, and you will not do anything to that speech!"

"Hey Ichigo, nice wedding attire," Kisuke's sarcastic voice sounds from behind the group. "C'mon, let's go get you outfitted."

"Well, gotta go!" Ichigo says, Flash Stepping away before Rukia can land a hit on him.

…

A few hours later, Sober Pills have been issued to everyone who needed them, and everyone is in the "basement". A small out-door wedding chapel has been constructed and Ichigo waits at it in rapidly building anticipation. Because he only just proposed a few hours earlier, all the feelings that one receives throughout the week prior to one wedding are bombarding him all at once. He feels anxious about everything that could possibly happen, from forgetting what to say to Aizen somehow coming alive again and crashing the occasion.

His wedding robes are similar to his Bankai garments, the only difference being the lack of a zanpakuto and the material being of a higher quality fabric. He looks to his best friend and best man, and the giant is wearing a simple black suit. He looks at the person who will be performing the ceremony; his father. Being royalty, only certain people are able to bond his soul with another's and other royalty is one of them.

When Ichigo hears nothing but silence, he turns to the aisle and his heart skips a beat (or maybe five) because walking down the aisle is the love of his life, Hiyori Sarugaki, soon to be Kurosaki. Her normal messy pigtails have been released and her hair hangs down, coming to rest just past her shoulders. Her usual hair pins have been replaced with elegant, jeweled ones, and they cause her hair to frame her face beautifully. Make-up has been applied slightly to her face, but her freckles still show in the same endearing manner. Her lips are red and her eyelashes are black, but she does not look fake; whoever did her make-up is a master of the trade. Her dress is simple yet elegant; her white strapless gown hangs well past her knees and stops just above her ankles. It glimmers slightly in the artificial sunlight and trails slightly behind her, giving her a look of almost divine beauty, in Ichigo's mind. She is holding the bouquet in both hands in front of her, clutching it tightly in what must be nervousness.

Ichigo is snapped out of his reverie by his father, who quickly jabs in the side to let him know that most of the ceremony is already over and that it's time to say the two words that will make all the difference.

"I do."

"And do you, Hiyori Sarugaki, take Ichigo Kurosaki, Spirit King, as your husband and soul mate?" Isshin asks, using the formal vows for the wedding of the Spirit King.

"I do."

"Then, as Spirit King and Queen, you may kiss to signify the joining of your souls!" Isshin says, the excitement evident in his voice.

Ichigo stares down into Hiyori's eyes, and she stares up into his. They start slowly inching closer, until Isshin slaps Ichigo upside the head, forcing his son forwards into the kiss. Initially angry, Ichigo is soon flooded with passion as he and Hiyori share probably the best kiss they've had yet, and eventually they break apart and, with a round of applause from all present, turn to face the crowd.

"Go on, you two," Isshin says, breaking formality with a stupid grin plastered across his face.

"What about a reception?" Ichigo asks. He isn't really into that sort of thing, and in fact he has no protests with going to seal the deal with his newlywed wife, but he knows that Hiyori may be upset if anything were left out.

"You already had the reception. That's what this party was all about. Everybody knew you were going to propose to her, and in fact, most of them already thought you had. Now go on, get out of here."

"Thanks, old man," Ichigo says before sweeping Hiyori up in the cheesiest of all cliché's and Flash Stepping off to the place that Yoruichi had instructed him to take his wife.

…

Seconds later, Ichigo was walking up the steps to the fancy hotel that Yoruichi had chosen. He honestly couldn't care less where they were going; it didn't change what was about to happen.

He steps in the lobby, checks in, Flash Steps to the room while no one is looking, and lays Hiyori down on the bed.

"Hold on, dumbass, I have to go get out of my dress," Hiyori says when Ichigo starts kissing her neck.

"But… I could take it off for you," Ichigo offers between kisses.

"Dumbass, this dress is special, and we agreed that we'd be doing this my way tonight, remember?" Hiyori reminds Ichigo.

Ichigo groans as he releases his wife, allowing her to venture into the bathroom. He takes off his shirt so that it would be one less obstacle to deal with later.

A couple of minutes later, Hiyori steps out of the bathroom wearing a nightie that she had received as a wedding gift. It is red, just like her jumpsuit, and can barely be considered decent due to its length. Her nipple already pokes out through the fabric as she walks towards Ichigo slowly, tantalizingly. Ichigo is unable to speak, with only one thought running through his mind.

_Tonight is going to be fun._

…

The next morning, Ichigo wakes Hiyori up as usual. He looks at the time and his blood runs cold.

"Hiyori, get up!" he yells, springing onto his feet.

"Why?" Hiyori groans.

"Because we'll be late if you don't!"

"So? You're the king, what are they gonna do, impeach you?"

"I wouldn't doubt it! Now come on!"

"Ugh, fine."

Once dressed, the couple dashes into the Senkaimon, Flash Stepping through the Dangai Precipice World as fast as possible. They reach the Soul Society and find Yoruichi waiting for them.

"Jeez Ichigo, couldn't even be bothered to make it to your own crowning," she teases. "Don't worry; I'm sure we'll understand that you had some more… important things on your mind. C'mon, pick Hiyori up and try to keep up."

Ichigo does as he's told and enters Bankai to match pace with the Goddess of Flash. They soon reach their destination, where they find everyone sitting quite impatiently, the Head Captain tapping his cane with his fingers slightly.

"Hey, sorry for being late," Ichigo says, scratching the back of his head and setting Hiyori down.

"Come, you majesty, let us proceed with the ceremony," Yamamoto says with VERY thinly veiled disapproval.

"Yeah, sure thing."

Soon, Ichigo's vows to his kingdom have been agreed to, Yamamoto leaves him to give his speech.

"Wait, speech?" Ichigo asks confusedly.

"Yes, you were supposed to write a speech. Did you forget?"

"N-no! Of course not! In fact, I've memorized it!" Ichigo lies so that he isn't questioned as to where his speech is.

"OK, umm, hey there," he starts off, thinking of words to say. "Well, let me start off by thanking people. I'd like to thank my family, who has supported me in any way that they could, and never left my side."

Karin, sitting in the audience, feels guilt now. She had left his side. However, Ichigo's next words catch her attention.

"Even if they didn't know it, they were always there for me," he says, winking at his little sister. "Also, my friends deserve more thanks than I can give. Without all of their help, I'd probably be dead by now. Actually, all of us probably would be. They may not have been willing or able to help at first, but in the end we were all united, and none of them have ever abandoned me. Even against impossible odds, they have stuck by my side, and for that I thank them. Also, the person I have to thank the most is my beautiful wife, Hiyori Kurosaki," Ichigo says, smiling at the girl. "Without her, I probably would have given up five years ago. Without her to guide me through some of the darkest times in my life, I would never be here right now. I would probably be a Hollow right now, a slave under Aizen's command more than likely. Thank you, Hiyori. Thank you all," Ichigo finishes and applause breaks out all over the Sereitei.

Thus begins the rule of the Spirit King Ichigo Kurosaki, and his wife, Hiyori.


End file.
